Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)

I thank the Minister of State. I think it is the first time I have had the chance to have a discussion with her in the Chamber. It is good to see her here.

We are obviously having this debate in the context of the new national strategy on drugs, and it is within that framework that the Government's approach to the drugs policy is at a bit of a crossroads. I do not believe we can continue with strategies that punish instead of support and that stigmatise instead of heal. The Social Democrats believe it requires a complete shift from a model of criminalisation to one of care and prevention. We must move towards the decriminalisation model that prioritises a public health-led approach. This has been proposed by many advocates, including all of the people in the citizens' assembly. It is about the removal of criminal penalties for individuals struggling with addiction or substance use. This really matters because it is recognising that those people need help. They do not need a criminal record or time in prison.

We must ensure that we use this pivotal moment of the new strategy to put in place a framework that is genuinely effective, equitable and rooted in the needs of our communities with communication, consultation and reaching out into communities where the problems are, where the solutions are, and where the knowledge and expertise are, particularly the expertise of those who know how to support those most in need. The citizens' assembly did vital work in hearing directly from communities, experts and those with lived experience of substance abuse. The assembly's findings reflected what many people already knew, that the current approach and system is failing. Mr. Paul Reid, chair of the citizen's assembly, said "We were stunned by the length of time it takes to introduce even modest changes". While the national drugs strategy emphasises prevention, reduction and treatment, the reality in the implementation on the ground is very different.

Our streets, our prisons and our accident and emergency departments are all full of the consequences of our current approach to drug use. None of those spaces are equipped to provide the kind of trauma-informed and health-based interventions that actually change people's lives. We need an approach to drug use through the lens of public health and social justice. This includes understanding the deep links between substance abuse, poverty, trauma, exclusion and intergenerational trauma. These are very real issues for many people and it is their lived reality. When those issues are not addressed, people often turn to substance abuse as a coping mechanism. That is really a symptom of how society has failed them. Far too many people end up in prison because they were denied access to mental health care, therapy, proper housing or, indeed, a pathway out of poverty. Our prisons are full of people who deserve to be better served by access to care and not incarceration. We need to be taking a holistic approach when we are looking at responding to people dealing with substance abuse.

If we truly want to reduce the influence of drug dealers in criminal networks in our communities, we need to stop the demand by helping people not turn to substance abuse in the first place. That means access to therapy, addiction services, mental health supports and community-led harm reduction. Continually punishing people who need help does not do them or society any good. While most of the discourse around drug use and addiction is often centred around Dublin, these problems exist in every community, rural and urban, like the ones the Minister of State and I both live in. We need services and supports throughout the country as well so that they are accessible and integrated into wider social supports at very specific low-level community levels.

The Social Democrats support the full implementation of the citizens' assembly recommendations. A key recommendation from the citizens' assembly was effective stakeholder involvement in the implementation of the national drugs strategy. A community-based approach must be fundamental for evaluating the outgoing strategy and developing the new one. We have, however, heard from community-based addiction services that they perceive these consultations to be very tick box and top down. This is not good enough to respond appropriately to the needs of communities when it comes to tackling addiction. We have heard that the Department has engaged 250 stakeholders. Following communication with the community drug sector, we have heard that these consultations have not been sufficient or meaningful and have not included members and services effectively. Meaningful consultation that does include service users and members will be critical for the next drugs strategy. Given the instrumental work that the community sector performs in the implementation of the strategy, its input really is key. I believe this is not just a question of policy, it is a question of values. We as a country have failed so many people. Now we have to make this decision about prioritising those people, the most vulnerable who really need this help. I do not want us in 20 years' time to be looking at a redress scheme, for example, because we failed people who were trapped in cycles of intergenerational trauma and substance abuse due to structural inequalities and the ongoing criminalisation, which, let us be honest, predominately affects young, working-class people.

I also lend my support Senator McCarthy's contribution on alcoholism. Alcoholism affects every family in Ireland, including my own, and it is something that is totally normalised in Irish culture. We have a fantastic reputation for being alcoholics. How horrifying. That is not necessarily our fault. Ireland has a history of intergenerational trauma from many different scandals. I do not believe, however, that as a society we are doing a huge amount to tackle it. We have loopholes in alcohol advertising, for example, with the 0.0% products, that allow children to see those billboards. Those ads can be on television or at bus stops. Those loopholes should not be allowed to exist. In addition, the Government has said it will not enforce the health labelling approach. Originally, two years ago, the Minister had agreed we would have health label warnings for alcohol products. Now we have seen a roll-back on that. This is really troubling when, on the one hand, we are talking about having a health-led approach and then, on the other hand, we are rolling back these measures that would contribute to highlighting the health concerns around alcohol. Alcohol has destroyed families in Ireland. The decision to not enforce a health warning is really contradictory. There is no logic there when we are talking on one side about a health-led approach. I am aware it is not the Minister of State's Department but rather the Department of enterprise, but I recognise that the Minister of State is sitting at the Cabinet level and I would request she have those discussions and push back a little bit on that decision, which I believe is a mistake when we consider our relationship with alcohol in Ireland.