Paddy Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There is no doubt that there is a drugs epidemic in this country. If we were to contain it, or even to try to contain it, we would need twice as many gardaí as we have at present. I suggest that when we debate this matter, we should consider the introduction of drug testing in the workplace. We need to tackle this problem from the other end. There are countries where drug testing is done in the workplace. People in the construction sector in Australia are rightly tested for drugs. I recently met an employer who exports to the UK. When his employees were working on a project some time ago, the company from which he had got the contract announced that it needed to carry out drug tests. He was absolutely shocked when four of his employees failed the test. We need to broaden out the debate by looking at alternative ways of combatting the serious issue of drug abuse and drug pushing, which is prevalent throughout the length and breadth of the country. I have no doubt that if we were to introduce drug testing in the workplace, even on a pilot basis, we would send a clear message to people who go to work after taking drugs in the belief that such activity has no consequences. I read yesterday that a professional soccer player was suspended for six weeks for taking drugs on a night out. As a consequence of failing a drugs test, he was suspended for six weeks and had to suffer the associated humiliation. We need a dose of reality here. I suggest we should look at the introduction of drug testing in the workplace.