Fiona O'Malley (Progressive Democrats)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Haughey, to the House. I thank everybody for their contributions to this debate. I do not want to be accused of trying to silence Senator Buttimer, which would be a considerable task. I do not mean he had no right to table an amendment to highlight areas where he feels there are shortcomings. However, I believe he will be impressed with the Minister of State, Deputy Curran, and how he recognises the shortcomings in the existing strategy. An audit needs to be done on the shortcomings and the things that worked well in the previous strategy to identify how the strategy can be improved and made worthwhile and workable in future.

Even though we will have a vote on the amendment, the spirit of what was intended in this motion was honoured in the debate. We got contributions from many Senators. The officials and the Minister of State, who stayed as long as he was able to stay, are keen to see this debate as part of a public consultation process in a public forum before the strategy is set in stone. That was my intention. People were able to make their contributions in a calm and informed way. The purpose of the motion was to cast more light than heat on the drugs strategy and I am glad contributions were made in that spirit. In particular, Senator Hannigan's contribution was very worthwhile in focusing on the harm reduction strategies of which we need to be cognisant as we formulate a new strategy.

The other benefit of this debate was that it gave Senators an opportunity to talk about extremely good work taking place in their communities in which people who have been touched by the ravages of drug addiction and other drug problems were able to speak knowledgeably of the work being done. Senator Donohoe in particular mentioned one of them. We need to be funding these kinds of organisations where the work is targeted at the communities and people who are suffering as a result of drug addiction and other drug problems. The debate gave us the opportunity to highlight the good work that is being done.

The new strategy needs to be based in reality and needs to face the problems as we see them. Most contributors in the debate suggested including alcohol in a strategy, with which I agree. Alcohol addiction is much more prevalent than we will admit. It causes great damage in families. We need to be more honest about the level of the alcohol abuse problem. People are now talking about alcohol as being as much of a problem as drug addiction. That is not a bad thing because it forces us to think about our attitudes to alcohol. As a nation we have a particular reputation for the way we use and speak about alcohol. We need to move beyond that point and have a more mature attitude.

Some important points were made about prevention and education. Children and more vulnerable people will be susceptible to drug pushers. The only way to build confidence is through education programmes. I hope they form a pivotal part of the strategy. I welcome the contributions to this debate and I thank the Minister of State for attending.