Marie Sherlock (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I very much welcome Lord Mayor Kelleher and his son to the Chamber. I also extend deepest sympathies, on behalf of the Labour Party Senators, to the Stalford family on the loss of Christopher. It is a shocking time for the DUP and the wider unionist family but there was shock right across the island of Ireland in recent days when people learned of his passing.

The Continent of Europe has entered a very dark period with the events in Ukraine in recent days. I express my solidarity with all the people of Ukraine. While the news of the package of sanctions is very welcome and the detail is eagerly awaited, we need to hear a very strong message from the Government about supporting the sanctions. Ireland is a net exporter to Russia, but we rely hugely on fossil fuel imports from Russia. We must be seen to be very strong in backing the sanctions against Russia at this point following its acts of aggression against its neighbour, Ukraine.

The main issue I wish to raise today relates to the announcement yesterday of the postponement of the citizens' assembly on drug use until 2023. This flies directly in the face of the Taoiseach's commitment on the floor of the Dáil just two weeks ago. It runs contrary also to what he said in the Fergus McCabe lecture last year. We must have an open, honest and detailed conversation about drug addiction and drug use in this country.People's lives, their communities and their families depend on that conversation. As my colleague, Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, who spent many years campaigning on these issues, said, lives are going to be lost. Ireland has one of the highest rates of lives lost to drug overdoses when compared to every other EU member state. In 2017 alone 377people lost their lives due to a drug overdose. Many were concentrated in some of the most deprived and disadvantaged parts of this country. It is, however, important to say this is an issue affecting all of Ireland. It is not just confined to Dublin, Cork or Limerick or the main urban centres.

There is much anger and frustration at the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan. We had tried to work constructively with the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, on the drugs issue since he took up his position but we now need to hear from people more senior than him, namely, the Taoiseach and the Minister for Health, what they are going to do about drugs policy in this country. If there is going to be a citizens' assembly on drugs in 2023 - we are told it is going to happen then but it may not - it will be 2024 before the Government can even begin to consider the recommendations. Are we really going to have a Government make sensitive and difficult decisions a year or months out from a general election? There is a very serious question mark over all that but the key issue is that we need to hear from the Taoiseach and the Minister for Health what their plans are with regard to drugs policy in this country because lives depend on it.