Lorraine Clifford Lee (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and the Minister of State for being present in the House for this debate. I particularly thank the Minister, Deputy Simon Harris, for his helpful explanation of the amendments involved.

Having spoken to community activists from many communities blighted by drugs, in particular, activists in the north inner city, we, in Fianna Fáil, feel compelled to support the Bill. There has been a sharp rise in the number of people presenting with addiction problems associated with these drugs and who have overdosed on them. The fact that they can be sold with impunity and yet have the same effect as other illegal drugs such as heroin, cocaine and cannabis has driven this growth.

I am informed by a community activist in the north inner city that Summerhill is now known as "the sleepy mile", given the prevalence of zopiclone in the area. It is a psychoactive drug with a hypnotic agent often used in the treatment of insomnia. It was linked with 51 deaths due to poisoning in the north inner city in 2013 alone.

The sellers of these prescription drugs arrive in the area at 8 a.m. every day and by the time children are walking to school less than one hour later they are stepping over empty blister packs and witnessing individuals under their influence of these drugs. During the Easter break one community group of residents in the north inner city ran an anti-bullying programme specifically to stop children from being pressured into being lookouts and couriers for dealers while off school for Easter. Activists have widely voiced their view that the trade in zopiclone is now bigger than that in heroin, cocaine and cannabis.

Clockwork orange is another one of the drugs being discussed. It is a head shop drug and a particular problem in countiesd Cavan and Monaghan where it has been associated with two recent deaths. Despite being banned in Ireland since 2010, it is being sold legally in the North and brought to the South for sale. It is designed to mimic the effects of cannabis. Users of the drug have had problems with delusions, hearing voices and suicidal thoughts.

In January this year a number of students in Cork were hospitalised following a house party. They admitted to taking psychoactive substances which the Bill seeks to make illegal. Clearly, there is a huge concern about these drugs and the effect they are having on individuals and communities. However, we, in Fianna Fáil, are very concerned about the cut in the number of gardaí who are working to prevent and investigate drug crime. Areas in Dublin saw a severe reduction in resources for dedicated drugs squads in recent years. The entire Cavan-Monaghan Garda district has no Garda drugs unit and this is the area which has been particularly affected by clockwork orange, as I mentioned. I appeal to the Minister for Justice and Equality to increase substantially Garda numbers in the dedicated drugs units without delay to ensure the Bill, if passed, is to have any meaning

We also call on the Government to invest substantially in the provision of treatment services for addicts of both drugs and alcohol and to ensure services are available across the country, in both urban and rural communities. We cannot simply make these drugs illegal and expect the problem to go away. Making the them illegal is just the first step which needs to happen in conjunction with having properly resourced addiction services, as well as the other essential health, local government and social services. It needs to happen across the country.

Withdrawal symptoms from zopiclone, in particular, are similar to those from heroin and include cramps, nausea and fits, the particular reason many drug treatment centres will not accept users who want to detox as they are not equipped to deal with them. However, detox supervision is necessary, given the risks involved. This often leaves addicts with no safe detox option, which is completely unacceptable.

Last week the Fianna Fáil motion on homelessness was passed unanimously by the House. Contributions made by various Members highlighted the increased poverty levels and the extremely difficult housing problem faced by tens of thousands of people. This reality cannot be divorced from the rise in the level of abuse of prescription drugs. In particular, zopiclone users are primarily homeless. Users have reported that they use the drug to kill the hours of the day and make them forget the reality of their housing problem. In addition, addiction cannot be overcome if housing is overcrowded, inadequate and not permanent. I, therefore, call on the Government to act immediately to resolve the housing crisis and tackle in a meaningful way the problems associated with it such as addiction.