Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)

Senator Burke mentioned the report on illegal highs that was published yesterday. We face huge challenges because we are leading Europe in this regard. Some 16% of young people here have used these substances. That is way ahead of the next country, which is on 9% or something like that. Perhaps we were not quick enough in dealing with the head shops. I would like to think the action that has been taken will stop the trend that had been developing. There is a need for a Europe-wide response to this Europe-wide problem. People are increasingly gaining access to illegal products on the Internet. I would like to look at this area. We have been reasonably successful in stopping people from using credit cards to access pornography on the Internet. I would like us to investigate the potential for clamping down on the purchase of illegal highs and prescription medication, which is another problem. We are considering how we might tackle that on a Europe-wide basis. The use of the Internet means it cannot be done in this country alone. We face a number of challenges as we try to protect the health of young people. We need to encourage them to play an active role in protecting their own good health. There is a serious body of work to be done in the health promotion area. I thank Members again for their contributions.