John Paul Phelan (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Curran. It is my first opportunity to participate in a debate with him. I was in Slieverue in my constituency last Friday after the Lisbon treaty referendum count. The Minister of State will be familiar with the area. People were raising the green flag at the local national school and a little fellow approached me with a trophy he had won after captaining the Slieverue school team. He asked me if I knew his cousin, John Curran. The Minister of State's mother is from that part of the country.

I wish the Minister of State well in his office. His comments indicate he has a good grasp of the issues in this area. I was not present for the start of the debate so I am not familiar with what other Members have said. Unquestionably, over the past 15 years this country has changed a great deal. One of the changes for the worse is the spiralling problem of the misuse of all types of drugs, be they illegal substances, prescribed drugs or alcohol. I welcome the opportunity the Progressive Democrats have given Members to discuss the drafting of the new national drugs strategy.

The Minister of State referred to the problems associated with the misuse of drugs, especially anti-social behaviour. All Members are aware of the trauma that is caused and the anti-social behaviour that takes place in our communities as a result of people's dependency on drugs. I firmly believe that insufficient resources have been allocated to the relevant authorities, particularly the Garda Síochána. In certain urban areas additional resources have been provided to the Garda but that has not happened in rural areas. It is a sad statement about Ireland in 2008 that at every crossroads in the country, be it in Slieverue or my local area of Tullogher in Kilkenny, one can acquire an illegal substance of any description. We are not doing enough to help the Garda to police those communities.

I am not seeking a heavy-handed approach. However, if it is well known in an area that there are suspicious activities at a particular location, the Garda authorities should be informed. I have had reason to do that on a number of occasions, but the Garda does not have the resources to police those areas at the times these activities are taking place. Something as simple as policing those areas can act as a basic deterrent. One could argue that those activities would be moved to another location but the Garda resources could move with them. However, there is no move, particularly in rural areas, to provide those additional resources.

I learned an astonishing statistic shortly after I was elected to the Seanad six years ago, that is, that the highest proportion of heroin users outside the city of Dublin is in Carlow town. That is probably related to the proximity of Carlow to Dublin but I have not seen and do not see sufficient resources being given to the local community in Carlow to confront what is a relatively new problem in the area. It is a problem that has grown exponentially even during my few years of involvement in public life.

In the midst of this is the ongoing problem of the lack of facilities in many new communities and in rural areas for young people to distract them from the lures of drug abuse. One might consider it a case of seeking to close the door after the horse has bolted, given that the years of the Celtic tiger are over but insufficient moneys were invested in developing amenities that would have distracted young people from drug use over the years. There is also a problem in many communities with regard to the re-investment of the funds seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau. The funds have been gathered from the proceeds of the illegal activities taking place in many communities throughout the country and radical improvement is required in that regard under the new national drugs strategy.

One of the best rehabilitation centres in the country is the Aislinn Centre in Ballyragget in my constituency. It has been recognised as such over recent years. I welcome the call in the Fine Gael amendment for additional residential services for people who are addicted to substances. There is a shortfall in such services. Again, this comes back to the issue of providing resources and ensuring these facilities are provided. It is not an easy task, especially in light of the new economic circumstances, but it must be addressed if we are serious about dealing with the drugs problem in this country.

I share the views of other speakers and the Minister of State with regard to whether alcohol should be discussed in the context of the drugs strategy. At the end of his contribution the Minister of State asked whether we should have a strategy for the misuse and abuse of substances across the board. I think we should have such a strategy and look at the bigger picture.

I am not a saint and I am partial to the odd drink, as is the Minister of State, but I believe there is a connection. Alcohol has become a gateway drug. We have a problem in this country. We often laugh about it and even now I made a joke about it but the abuse of alcohol goes unnoticed in Ireland. If we are serious about our drugs strategy, alcohol must be included within it. As a nation we no longer can afford to turn a blind eye to the abuse of alcohol as a substance which takes place much more regularly throughout the State than that of illegal drugs.

The final issue I wish to raise is the abuse of prescription drugs. I was not familiar with this until a case presented itself to me recently. It concerned a person who became addicted to prescription drugs. I hope the new strategy will include a provision on tackling this growing problem because it is becoming a much greater problem. The Minister of State has a difficult responsibility and I do not envy him his job but he has the capability to do it well. It will be difficult because the financial position is not as buoyant as it has been for the past ten years. If we are serious about tackling the drugs problem we need additional resources in certain key areas in terms of amenities for young people, additional residential units and more resources for the Garda Síochána which tries to police the situation locally. If the Minister of State can deliver in some of those areas he will have done a good day's work.