Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House and introducing the legislation. It is important that it be enacted at the earliest possible date. It is important also that we take account of the amendments tabled, but not in the sense of incorporating them in this legislation. Instead, they might be incorporated into a more comprehensive Bill, which I understand will be introduced in the autumn, on this whole area. There is the issue of users and the issue of pushers. Coming from a legal perspective, the problem for the courts is trying to decide on who is not the pusher. That is the reason we have to be very careful in regard to the legislation. It is an issue we need to examine very carefully. I accept that the Senators who tabled these amendments have vast knowledge and expertise in this whole area and have quoted Portugal as an area where some success has been reported. We should now look at that. In the past four or five years, and even before that time, there have been cutbacks in support services. We need to know how we can help restructure these to ensure the funding is adequate and can support the people who genuinely want to move away from the drugs problem.

This legislation is necessary. If we cannot incorporate the amendments tabled today we should consider them in the context of the new legislation in the autumn to ensure the necessary procedures are in place for dealing with those who are not involved in the pushing or sale of drugs but want support from the services.