Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will make a few comments in response to comments from Senators and then I will refer to the amendments. I made it very clear in this House last week that I do not want to criminalise anybody who takes drugs because of addiction, but decriminalisation is a complex issue which has to be worked out properly before we can say that people should not be criminalised for carrying drugs in their pockets. This is because, if it is a person's intent to make a profit or simply to pass on an illegal substance, it is wrong. That person is interfering with somebody's life by giving them a medication they should not take and the consequences for that person can lead to death.

In answer to Senators Ó Ríordáin and Ruane, I know the victims of drugs as I have lived beside them all my life. I can give the Senators the names of families which have lost not just one child, but three or four. There is nothing as bad as going to a funeral where a family is being wiped out because of addiction. It leaves one haunted for the rest of one's life to see what happens to people who have grown up in an area with one's own children and friends. At the 21st or 30th birthday parties that come around each year, and to which I am invited, I sit and wonder if Mary, Jack or Paul might have been there had things been done differently. We need to do things differently but this is a very complex issue. Senator Boyhan hit the matter on the head when he said that in the past, when services were opened, there was huge hostility towards them and people, including myself in my own area, were marching on the streets against them but this was because proper information was not given to communities about what it was that was being opened. It created a them-and-us situation, and they should never have done that as tomorrow it could be my son, my daughter or my grandchild.

I bear this in mind as we look at how we deal with addicts who live on our streets or come from our own homes. This is how we should deal with addiction now. Millions of euro are going into local drugs task forces, community projects and addiction services but people are still becoming addicts and dying on a daily basis. What is going wrong and why are those services not working? If they are not working, we should find out why as a lot of money goes into them and we have to be accountable for every penny that is spent in communities because it is public money. If addiction rates remain high in certain communities, we need to look at the reasons. If funding is going into the wrong places, maybe we need to take it out and try to do something different. That is what this document, outlining the Portuguese model, is all about.

I understand Senators' frustration and appreciate that they are in touch with community groups which they represent. Senator Máire Devine asked about detox beds and I agree with her 100%. There should not be just four detox beds and only one for people under 18 in St. James's Hospital. That has to be looked at because it is a significant part of any addict's attempts to come off a drug. There are huge numbers of people on methadone in this country and who have not moved on. It is scary that we all know people in our neighbourhoods who go to work every week but survive on methadone and this is a challenge we have to take on. We cannot continue to imprison people in a drug that does not bring people anywhere and we need to find a solution. I entirely agree with Senator Norris that it is a medical issue. Anything that affects our health is a medical issue.

Everybody has spoken about the Portuguese model and I read the report of the Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality on a harm reducing and rehabilitative approach to the possession of small amounts of illegal drugs. It is an excellent piece of work and should be commended as a model we should follow. I am sorry, but we cannot just follow it today. This is a complex issue. One recommendation of the committee was that a health counselling treatment approach may be more effective and more appropriate for those found in possession of a small amount of illegal drugs for personal use rather than imposing a criminal sanction resulting in a lifelong criminal record. We need to look at this model and to take it, dissect it and decide what is suitable for the country in which we live. This is possible and we all have a part to play in it. This is not a political issue for me as it covers the political divide. We need to pick out the good bits from this model and modify them for where we are in this country. This can be done but we need the co-operation of everyone to do it. I have spoken to people about the Portuguese model more than about any other issue in the past few weeks. I do not intend to fly out there to have a look at how it operates in practice as I have enough information from people who have told me how good it is. I suggest all Senators read the report as it makes good sense. It is common sense not to criminalise people who are mentally and medically sick. We have to find a mechanism to avoid criminalising these people.

I will not be accepting the amendments of Senators Ruane and Ó Ríordáin and I will explain why. I understand that the aim behind the amendments proposed by the Senators is exactly the same, namely, to remove the offence of possession of small quantities of controlled drugs for personal use. During the Second Stage debate last week it was made clear that the Bill is one part of a whole of government approach to dealing with the serious crime situation in the north inner city of Dublin. This Bill is not about targeting addicts but about disrupting gangs and giving the Garda Síochána the powers it needs to do so. The primary purpose of the Bill is to aid the law and enforcement functions of the Garda Síochána in tackling crime associated with the illegal sale of certain substances.

As Senators know, drug dealers on the street often carry relatively small quantities of drugs on their person, which makes it difficult for the authorities to proceed with sale or supply charges. I shall back up my comments by relaying a personal story. My son is a garda and a few months ago he stopped somebody who had a small amount of drugs in his possession. My son could not arrest the man and had to let him go. This law will change that situation by giving the Garda Síochána and customs officials an opportunity to deal with these situations on the street. I have outlined a typical example. My son is a garda and he is on the streets day and night doing his job. Heretofore, when he encountered people with small amounts of substances in their possession he could not arrest and charge them. That is why the legislation is being introduced and it was long in train before I came into this job.

Last week here in the Seanad the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, and myself addressed the issue of an alternative approach to the current criminal justice approach to the simple possession of small quantities of illegal drugs for personal use. We intend to address the matter. That is why we are having a national drugs strategy and it is why we are having public consultation because we intend to listen to the concerns of people. We want to look at the model used in Portugal and see if the good bits will work here. I am very much in favour of doing so, with everybody's help in this Chamber and in the Dáil.

As we stated last week, consideration of the issue is part of the ongoing discussion on the drafting of the national drugs strategy. This will include a public consultation phase which will provide an opportunity to have a constructive public dialogue on this and other drug-related issues. I have spoken to a lot of people in the past couple of weeks, particularly because of my ministerial position. A lot of people have told me that they have no voice and nobody asks for their opinion. I can confirm that people do have a voice. We must listen to the opinion of people because they are living in these communities. We not only have to listen to the people who are involved in the services to combat drugs, we have to listen to the people living on the outside. We can no longer have a community of people working in drugs who look inward and instead they must look outward. We must look at the "Mary" and the "Joe" who live down the street perhaps beside the Merchant's Quay project. They may not like what goes on in there but accept it is providing a service. The service must also show respect for the people who live in the neighbourhood.

I believe it would be completely wrong to move on a complex social and legal issue such as this without first having that debate. The implementation of such a change in policy would need extremely careful consideration. Such consideration must be done through the national drugs strategy but it must come from the people on the ground and the public representatives. Accordingly, I do not propose to accept amendments Nos. 1 or 2. I hope, over the next couple of months in the run-up to the national drugs strategy and the public consultation, we will look at models such as the one used in Portugal. We must analyse how we treat people in communities and, in particular, how we deal with people who want to avail of a detox bed yet find themselves trapped because suitable services do not exist. Services to help addicts recover should form part of the national drugs strategy.