Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Members of both Houses who attended the "Dine in the Dark" event last night. This sought to promote and increase awareness among Members of vision impairment and blindness and it was a great success. I also thank the many colleagues who, for various reasons, were unable to attend. It is hoped that we will be able to repeat the exercise in 2018.

This morning, I had the great pleasure of launching a phenomenal community initiative on the part of the Blanchardstown drugs task force and the Safer Blanchardstown community organisation at the Gresham Hotel. The campaign, which is trying to make a start on dealing with recreational drugs, is called "Think Before You Buy" because buying drugs will harm someone and it is targeted primarily at the people in middle Ireland who go out on a Saturday night to dinner parties and decide, for whatever reason, to take recreational drugs. They are not the quintessential or traditional drug addict one sees from time to time. These are people in white collar and blue collar jobs who have families. They go out and, whether it is weed, hash or cocaine, they buy and take drugs. The consequences not just to their own health and lives but to society are enormous. The money they spend, whether they like it or not, funds organised crime and results in deaths in inner city Dublin and throughout the country. I commend the people in Blanchardstown on the initiative, which needs Government support and which should be rolled out across the country. They are doing their best on a shoestring budget. It would be worth bringing the Minister for Justice and Equality to the House to discuss how we deal with those in middle Ireland who are taking drugs on Saturday nights. In the Leader's own good time, perhaps this House could have a debate with the Minister for Justice and Equality on the issue.