Martin Brady (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. We were both in Darndale earlier where he launched a project. We are all proud of Darndale and the Minister of State has done a great deal of work in the area. The project involves the restoration of a Volkswagen van. Drug abuse was a major problem in Darndale and the north east drugs task force was established in the area. I compliment those running the task force on the tremendous work they have done. As Senator Phelan said, prevention is important. Thankfully, many drugs after care centres have been set up in Dublin North East. The centre in Kilbarrack is managed by Marian Clarke and Michael Finn and they do excellent work. It is very important to support them, because without them the problem would be 100 times worse. They have achieved a great deal of success.

Senator Ellis referred to the problem of alcohol abuse. I attended a party on Dame Street a few weeks prior to Christmas. One young fellow at the bar ordered six drinks costing €122. I asked the man sitting beside me, who worked in the building industry, what was in the drinks. He said they were triple vodkas and Red Bull and they cost half the week's wages of the young fellow who had ordered them. That gives some indication of the education needed at primary level.

Drink has been glamorised to a degree, and sponsorship in particular should be curtailed. This Christmas, I witnessed eight to 12 year old children with cans of bulmers going absolutely bananas on the street. One wonders how much attention their parents are paying them. Television presenters and others in the media also have a role to play. It is unacceptable that a television presenter can say it is all right to take recreational drugs because doing so sends the wrong signal.

Senator O'Reilly, who referred to these issues, had a pub which I visited on many occasions. He ran his business in a responsible manner. Years ago, customers could not order triple vodkas from publicans until they fell off their feet. In those days, publicans were responsible. I worked in pubs on the northside of the city and if a publican assumed that a customer had drank enough alcohol, he or she served no more. That is no longer the case.

The Garda has done a tremendous job in terms of the confiscation of drugs and most gardaí will attest they have sufficient resources to do their jobs. I congratulate the force on the significant success it has achieved in Dublin North.

Another issue pertaining to drugs is that 19% of the population of the country are on legal drugs, including prescription medicine and anti-depressants. We should seek statistics from the coroners courts regarding the number of accidents that occur as a result of people consuming legal drugs. Any legal drug that alters one's mind gives rise to problems which should be investigated. We should not solely focus on cocaine and heroin. We seldom see television advertisements warning about the danger of driving motor vehicles under the influence of illegal or legal drugs.

Senator Ellis referred to the amount of alcohol consumed by some young people. Education in that regard is needed at an early stage in the school system. When I attended primary school, officials from the health board visited us to warn of the dangers of smoking. Such education no longer takes place. Prevention is the key to the matter.

I compliment the Dublin north east drugs task force and the Minister of State, Deputy Haughey. A friend of mine, Larry O'Toole, sits on the task force and does tremendous work. He has been on the wrong end of the stick on many occasions but he has great courage. I also commend the Kilbarrack drug project and Marion Coyle, who is now Marion Clarke. Unfortunately, certain politicians in the area disagree with her because of her background but I have no problems in that regard. She is a great person and I do not worry about anybody's background because many people have reformed after experiencing difficulties in their earlier lives. It is great to see somebody like her doing a good job because her work is important for the children of the area.