Cecilia Keaveney (Fianna Fail)

I congratulate the former Minister of State, Deputy Pat Carey, on the hands-on role he took to the drugs industry. We complimented him in the House a number of times on being one of the most successful Ministers of State in terms of drug seizures. He was responsible when a series of big Garda raids took place and I commend the Garda, Customs and Excise and everybody involved.

I also wish the best to the Minister of State, Deputy Curran, as he takes on that mantle. I am heartened by the fact that he came to the House tonight to ensure he heard at first hand from many speakers the issues that are to the fore as far as we in the Seanad are concerned. We have had many debates on alcohol in particular. I sent a note to him recently to the effect that if I were to make one submission to the national drugs strategy, it would be that alcohol would be brought under its remit.

I say that with some level of experience because as Chair of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Arts, Sport, Tourism, Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, we compiled several reports on drugs. One such report was The Inclusion of Alcohol in a National Substance Misuse Strategy. I am sure the officials are familiar with the report and if they are not, I ask them to re-read it. Another report was The Treatment of Cocaine Addiction, with Particular Reference to the Irish Experience, which was published in 2005. Drug Abuse in Ireland — a Waterford Perspective was published in 2007. The Effectiveness of Investment in Sport and the Arts as a Deterrent Against Youth Substance Abuse was published in April 2004, and The Relationship between Alcohol Misuse and the Drinks Industry Sponsorship of Sporting Activities was published in March 2007. The final report we produced was entitled What Everyone Should Know about Cannabis. There is no shortage of information from both Houses in the recent past on drugs and drug misuse.

To be parochial, I commend the support services that exist in my area in the form of a rehabilitation centre called White Oaks. I will ask the new Minister of State to take a continued interest in that, as the previous Minister of State, Deputy Pat Carey, recently went there to meet with Fr. Neal Carlin and his board of directors. They provide a very important service that cuts across both alcohol and illegal drugs. There is a strong case for a detoxification unit for the north west.

Our strategies must operate on an inter-state basis. When I was campaigning for a "Yes" vote on the Lisbon treaty one of the things that was greeted on the doorsteps with great enthusiasm was the concept of more inter-state police co-operation on the drugs issue. I accept the unit in Portugal has an Irish input and the people who are involved there are aware of the significant work taking place on a trans-frontier basis. In the same way as trans-frontier co-operation to find the drugs, there should be trans-frontier co-operation to deal with issues such as rehabilitation and detoxification. The latter is not available in the White Oaks centre because of the lack of designated medical supports. I ask the officials and the Minister of State to consider introducing a detoxification facility in the north west. When a person presents it is important that there be as much intervention as quickly as possible, not only for the individual but also for his or her family. For many people, especially those in rural areas, discovering that their son or daughter may be a drug user or has experienced a drug overdose is a frightening experience, particularly if the resources are not on their doorstep. While I accept there cannot be such facilities on every doorstep there must be access to someone's door when this issue arises.

I agree with Senator Buttimer on the issue of using drug dogs. I remember the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform telling me that after dogs were introduced into prisons, the number of prison visits declined by approximately 75% for a while. Having the dogs trained to detect drugs is not as relevant as the visibility of what could be a drug dog in an area. Unless it has changed in the very recent past it is not acceptable for the Garda and Customs and Excise combined to have only 20 drug dogs. If dog handlers were patrolling a town or going through a nightclub, people who are up to no good would not be as confident about doing what they do when there is a potential of being caught. It would be far easier to catch such people by using drug dogs than by using many other techniques.

Regarding cross-Border matters, there has been considerable talk about the alcohol issue. Any change in alcohol policy in the Republic will not be successful in areas such as mine. For example, price increases which would be seen to be the biggest deterrent and work well in areas like Scandinavia will not work in my area. If there is a significant increase in the price of alcohol in my town, it will not work because I could go 18 miles and buy it cheaper. Human nature is such that people will go where it is cheaper. Any initiatives must be Border tested, so to speak. In the post-Good Friday Agreement period we should work in close co-operation with people who have exactly the same problems in the North. I understand Bangor has taken a particular initiative, involving the police, the community, the publicans and all the different entities to try to ensure that town is safe at night. It wants to ban anti-social behaviour and anybody caught engaging in serious anti-social behaviour knows he or she will be in serious trouble. That co-operation between different bodies should be explored. I believe something similar is happening in Cork.

The answer to why alcohol should be in the national drugs strategy is contained in the joint committee report. The Minister of State said today that he wants to be in charge of dealing with the issue. If alcohol comes under the remit of the Department of Health and Children, and drugs come under his remit and never the twain shall meet, he cannot be in charge. Polydrug use is the issue. In the past cocaine and heroin have been the problem. People did not want them mixed. However, contrary to what Senator Doherty says, people now know they need to be mixed and not just for polydrug use.

We should reconsider the money that is invested. Enormous sums of money are invested in sport and certain people get involved in it. The initiatives being taken by the GAA are very good and very influential. The schools do not have as much influence as people would like to think. The GAA and other sporting bodies have such influence. Similar consideration should be given to the arts. Recently €500,000 was allocated to all the marching bands in the country. If people are not interested in sports they might be interested in the arts. Keeping young people interested in drumming or playing in traditional bands would have them usefully occupied and would keep them away from inappropriate activity. If I had the time I would speak about closed circuit television and other issues.