Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Please do not worry at all about it. We shall not fall out over it. It is always a great pleasure to follow Senator Kelleher, especially on an issue such as this where she is engaged in a very sincere and passionate way.

The Minister of State is very welcome. Much of what I had intended to say has been said already, so I will avoid overt or unnecessary repetition on some of the sentiments that have been expressed by colleagues in their contributions.

I thank Senator Ruane for bringing this motion before us today, and I also thank Senator Ó Ríordáin for seconding it. Regardless of where one falls in this piece of legislation, or indeed in the broader argument, I do not believe that any of us could deny that it is a significant, substantial and passionate piece of work. The passion, dedication and commitment is written all over it. One can see it in the i's dotted and t's crossed. Fair play to Lynn and her colleagues who have contributed to that hard work.

I want to refer back to come of Senator Boyhan's comments on what we are trying to do here, what we are about and what we should be about as legislators in the Seanad. Sinn Féin did not sign the Bill because there are elements of the Bill we are opposed to and elements of the Bill we would have sought to change. Sinn Féin would have supported and voted for the passage of the Bill on Committee Stage in order to do exactly what Senator Boyhan is advocating us to do. This is to bring forward equally passionate, equally sincere and equally hopeful amendments to make the legislation better for the benefit of the people who need it. We do agree fundamentally and I am sure the Minister of State, in her heart of hearts, also agrees with the primary objective of the Bill, which is to reduce harm by making greater use of health interventions or community based sanctions rather than custodial sentences where a person's crime is solely possession for personal use and where such interventions would be more appropriate. This is why we should hone in on that aspect of the matter and I urge colleagues to not engage in any scaremongering around decriminalisation or legalisation as a blanket term for this legislation because it is not necessarily the case. I know this view might resonate with some tabloids or media outlets but it should not be the aspect we focus on today. The standard of work that has been put into the Bill warrants an equal standard of response from Senators in how we examine it and the contributions we give in the Chamber.

In moving this legislation forward I shall take the wisdom of Senator Ó Ríordáin and will not make an issue of why we will not have a vote to move it on today. We could do that but I do not believe it is in keeping with the spirit of the debate thus far. It would not be in concert with what we ultimately want to try to achieve. This is not about new politics or anything like that, it is actually about doing politics well and right. Einstein defined insanity as repeating the same mistakes over and over. All the statistics on the issues are there and a blind man or woman on a galloping horse can see that all the best intentioned policies and strategies thus far have not made the difference we wanted in the so-called war on drugs. This is why we will seek to amend this legislation.

The core principle and spirit of the Bill's proposed legislation represents everything that new politics should be. It is about trying to look at a societal problem that is staring us right in the face in the most tragic and awful ways with people suffering greatly as a result of dependency on drugs. Anyone who comes in to the House in a spirit of trying to assist and change that is to be commended, supported and co-operated with in trying to achieve that goal, one which we can all live with as politicians and elected representatives but, most important and critically, a goal that can start to make a tangible change in our society.

Without over egging and hamming it up - and I do not say this to be contentious or controversial - I grew up at a time and in an environment in Belfast when people who were using or selling drugs were shot, knee-capped and killed. That never stopped people from taking or dealing drugs. If we look at the same issues and our current strategic policy direction then why would people stop taking drugs? If a person is going to take somebody into an entrance and shoot them and it does not stop them engaging in drug use, then why do we think that what we have been doing over and over again is going to stop them? I do not say this to be controversial. I say it because I believe this discussion warrants frank contributions. We would do people a disservice if we do not speak frankly about the realities of the matter.

I know the Minister of State is hearing us and she is committed to the issue. I have heard the Minister of State speak before on these issues. I know she shares a desire to see a change in policy and, hopefully, to see a change in society that ultimately starts to treat the issues highlighted in this Bill with the kind of legislation it deserves. I hate to engage in clichés or rhetoric but I cannot think of any other term other than to say it must be about putting people first. It has to think of the individuals who are suffering as a result and it has to be reacted to in a way that looks after their health and well-being. By directing the affected people onto a path that is about their recovery I believe it will ultimately benefit the Minister of State's Department and the resources of Government by taking these people away from the criminal justice system and away from some of the issues they face as a result of their drug dependency.

I am in no way advocating a soft approach to the people who peddle drugs to the most vulnerable sections of our society. I believe they should feel the full rigours of the law. People who poison communities on a broad, wholesale level are doing more of a disservice than anybody to the people we are trying to help through this debate today. While I advocate and support fully the primary objective of the Bill, which is to deal with the situation as a health care issue, I appreciate there is a balance to be struck. I fully acknowledge that regardless of our best intentions there are people out there who are intent on harming communities and they must be faced down also.