Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with my colleague, Senator Paschal Mooney, on the matter in regard to Amnesty. When it presented its report to the Joint Committee on Health I decided not to comment on it because I felt that the research provided to the committee was not properly done. I have serious reservations about that report which was presented to the Joint Committee on Health and Children.

On the pensions issue, there is a simple solution to the matter, that is for the people who are entitled to the increase to decide not to take it. If Senator Gerard P. Craughwell wishes to write to each of the individuals I am sure nobody is preventing him from doing so. However, there is a legal issue in that the Government cannot pick out one group and decide not to follow through on a prior agreement. That is a legal issue that, unfortunately, cannot be dealt with. It is a constitutional issue and a difficult issue.

May I raise the issue of the drugs problem? I am aware the Minister is attending the Joint Committee on Health as we speak. We had a detailed presentation this morning from a group from Monaghan on the use of drugs by young people. We have a huge problem, no matter where it is, whether in a town, village or city. It is no longer confined to any one area of the country. We need to have a major debate on how to deal with it. The Minister is talking about bringing in new legislation but we all need to be involved, including parents, sports clubs, youth groups, the HSE, the Department of Health and schools. We need to work on how to deal with this growing problem. The figures for 2012, the only figures available to me, show that some 632 people died as a result of drug use in that year. I expect the figures are even higher for 2013 and 2014. More than €109 million is being pumped into this area by the Health Service Executive, but we are making very little progress. We need a major debate on where we want to be and what our plan is for the next five to ten years to deal with this issue. As we know, people are able to order various illegal drugs online and have them posted to them. Children as young as 12, 13 and 14 years are accessing these substances. We have a major problem on our hands and must start dealing with it properly.