Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am totally in favour of drug testing and a drugs-free Defence Forces, so what I am about to say should not be taken as being in any way negative. It is proposed that the Minister should be able to make regulations in this regard. Subsection (2)(a) states that the Minister should be able to determine specified concentrations in samples. I wonder about that. A person can have controlled drugs in his or her bloodstream for perfectly legitimate reasons. On the other hand, he or she could have a massive presence of something like steroids for bodybuilding or for one reason or another. I wonder about the power of the Minister to determine concentrations of, say, steroids, which can be used for medical purposes too. This is a very wide power to give to a Minister to determine the concentration of controlled drugs which will be the subject of consequences.

When I come to consequences, I ask the House to look at subsection (2)(m) and (n). The Minister is entitled to provide by regulation for "the consequences that may apply to a member of the Defence Forces who refuses or fails to provide a sample" and "the consequences that may apply to a member of the Defence Forces where a positive result is yielded in his or her sample". Those are very broad powers. A person driving a car is not subject to a vague statutory provision of that kind. We cannot simply say that the Minister for Transport can determine what amount of steroids a person may have in his or her body and the consequences of failing a test.

I fully accept that we need a workable model, but can the Tánaiste confirm whether these regulations will be placed before the Houses before they come into operation? Is there, for instance, adequate provision for exemptions for medical purposes? Is that provided for in section 11? I am just a bit worried that we are giving out a blank cheque which could have serious consequences for people. The thing that worries me even more is that the consequences are not something we are deciding. We are not deciding whether being pumped up on steroids or having a tiny degree of cannabis in one's system or having traces of this or that other type of drug is or is not fatal to one's presence in the Defence Forces or what the consequences will be. We are, however, giving the Minister the right to determine what the consequences are for failing a test. I wonder whether that is appropriate to be done by regulation.