Keith Swanick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Fianna Fáil Party did not propose any amendments to this Bill. We believe that the measures that have helped to avoid drug-induced death should be taken, yet we see this as a pilot programme that will lead to regular reviews. We have many questions regarding the function of such facilities that we hope will be teased out through protocol. An amendment we had considered submitting was one that would take the decision of granting a licence for such an establishment solely from the Minister and would compel him or her to consult with members of local authorities, An Garda Síochána and the HSE before granting a licence. Our reasoning was such that there should be a greater consultation process with key stakeholders and local authority members who know their own areas inside out and are best placed to participate in decision-making such as this. I ask the Minister to take this into account and to seriously consult with the local authority members before decisions are made with regard to the granting of licences for supervised injecting facilities.