Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach. I rise today to thank the Leader for her intervention when I raised the issue of children under the age of 18 being discriminated against when playing competitive basketball. I welcome this morning's announcement by the Minister of State with responsibility for sport, Deputy Chambers, that the Government has made an amendment whereby children will be allowed to play in competition and not just in training. This is very welcome news. I had been contacted by a number of basketball organisations and clubs on this. I thank the Leader for her intervention on this.

Yesterday, I received an alarming phone call from a mother who was very concerned. Over the weekend, her daughter had been out and a friend of hers had her drink spiked. It turned out that up to 20 people had their drinks spiked in the one premises over the weekend. This is something that has been raised on the floor of the Chamber previously. There needs to be an awareness campaign. Institute of Technology Carlow has students patrolling their bars and watching out for students, particularly first years, to ensure their drinks are not spiked. This is something that seems to be escalating and going out of control.Is there a need to get the Minister for Health into the House to discuss the matter in order to see if an awareness campaign can be initiated or to determine what restrictions can be put in place? I ask that because it is alarming to hear of that number of people allegedly having their drinks spiked in one night alone. That was just in one place, and there are many more. Looking at local newspapers and listening to local radio stations shows that this is happening everywhere. It is frightening.