Rory Kiely (Fianna Fail)
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As Senator Frank Feighan, who was in possession, is not here I call Senator White. The Senator may speak for ten minutes.

Mary White (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Noel Ahern, to the House and I wish him every success in his continued work in his Department.

On page 26 of the report of the National Advisory Committee on Drugs, I read of a three source study of opiate or heroin use in Dublin. This study was carried out between 2000 and 2003. Three data sources were used — the central drug treatment list; the national Garda study on illicit drug use and related criminal activity; and the hospital inpatient inquiry database.

Overall, it is estimated that, in 2001, 14,450 people were using heroin in Ireland. When the figures for Dublin only were extracted and the statistical technique reapplied they showed that 12,456 people were using heroin, aged between 15 and 54. This compares favourably with the 1996 figure of 13,461. Most important, a significant change is apparent in the age profile of heroin users. Fewer young people aged between 15 and 24 are using heroin. This phenomenon needs to be further investigated. One reason for this is that in recent years there has been an increase in the drug treatment services provided by health boards and drugs task forces which has facilitated the opening of community-based services for drug users. We all hope this trend will continue among young people. It is important that a follow-up study should take place on the use of heroin in Ireland.

A new drugs trend monitoring system has been established to help support the National Advisory Committee on Drugs. This is to meet the objectives set out under the programme for Government and the national drugs strategy regarding the identification of new drug trends, including drugs such as heroin, ecstasy, cocaine and cannabis. The aim of the drugs trend monitoring system is to identify trends, including the availability of new drugs, as well as new patterns and combinations of drug use. The emphasis in the drugs trend monitoring system is on tapping into drugs trends at an early stage of their life cycle. This will be achieved through a network of trend monitors among frontline workers and a media monitoring system which will allow the National Advisory Committee on Drugs to monitor drug seizures, drug-related court cases and local drug issues.

The first drugs trend monitoring system results will be given to the Government in 2005 and will be repeated annually. The good news is that there has been a drop in the number of 15-24 year olds using drugs. It is important for the young people in the Gallery to hear that fact. Help is available to assist people caught up in drug abuse in order to get them off drugs so their lives will not be debilitated.

The former Minister of State, Deputy Eoin Ryan, introduced the report of the National Advisory Committee on Drugs, which we are debating today. It is important for school teachers to get their hands on this report so they will know exactly what is happening.

Rory Kiely (Fianna Fail)
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It is not in order to address people in the Gallery.

Joe O'Toole (Independent)
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I am glad of the opportunity to say a few words on the drugs issue. The report is somewhat disappointing in that it is simply an outline of the work to be done. It is neither a plus nor a minus. The National Advisory Committee on Drugs has outlined an important programme of work and I wish it well in accomplishing that programme. It is good to know from this interim report what the committee has set out to do and is doing. The real meat of it will be when the committee completes the reports to which Senator White referred.

It is important to distinguish between the demand for drugs and their supply. The idea that we will ever solve the drugs problem by dealing with the supply line, by having more gardaí and customs officers at ports, is unrealistic. We have as much chance of stopping drug abuse through the supply area as we have of stopping the sale and use of fireworks. While fireworks are illegal they are still freely available and the same applies to drugs.

The drugs problem is about demand. Some very sensible matters are raised in the report. One issue is that school authorities should be supported in ensuring the inclusion of drugs programmes in every school. Fifteen years ago, the European Commission advised — it was not a directive — that every school in the European Union should have a teacher skilled in dealing with drug abuse issues. Looking around, there are certainly three teachers present in the Chamber as I speak. The Minister of State should be aware, however, that there is no point in telling schools to do such a thing. Thankfully, the vast majority of teachers would not know the difference between talcum powder and heroin. Long may that continue to be the case. The idea of dumping the solution to the drugs problem on teachers and schools is no way to approach this issue. Investment in training is required before the matter can be tackled in schools. I want to issue a caveat: it is grossly unfair to expect schools to do something about drugs unless somebody takes the time to train teachers out of school and make sure they are aware of the up-to-date situation.

The report we are debating refers to research on methadone treatment being done through the use of buprenorphine, which is a new development. The last time we discussed this issue, the Minister of State was filling in for another Minister, and it was all to do with methadone treatment. These are social issues but there is a lack of honesty in the way we deal with the drugs situation. Why are we not honest with young people, telling them that heroin does not kill instantly? It can be fatal and can destroy lives. Tobacco is every bit as addictive as heroin, although not as dangerous. In the long term, tobacco may have as bad an effect on a person's health, but not immediately.

Mary White (Fianna Fail)
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Yes.

Joe O'Toole (Independent)
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More than one third of all crime is drugs related, which is due to the supply end of the problem. As well as methadone treatment units and new ways of dealing with people who are trying to come off heroin, there is also a case for using heroin as a treatment. The last time I mentioned this, the Minister of State looked aghast at me but there are well researched and documented cases of heroin addicts being maintained on heroin medically by doctors. They continued to live in their communities doing their jobs. I do not like the idea and I am certainly not putting it forward as something we should jump into, but if it is a method that keeps a certain control over society and allows people to make a contribution without them falling into the gutter, then we should examine it.

In my office I have an advertisement, dated 1910, for a very prominent drugs company which is still selling medicines and is one of the top ten such companies in the world. The 1910 advertisement was for a great new cure for influenza, coughs and other ailments, called heroin. In the early years of the 20th century, the company was marketing heroin as a curative drug. It demonstrates where research leads and how such a drug might have a positive side. I do not know, however, and I am not for one moment advocating that heroin should be decriminalised and made freely available. However, we need to have more information about it.

The drugs problem is a contradiction in terms. The Minister of State would know from his own constituency, better than me, that it is a community and social problem. The vast majority of heroin addicts come from the same socio-economic background as the majority of our prison population. While that is not so in all cases, we must make the necessary investment in social and community spheres.

The problem is also about self-esteem. People who resort to taking drugs have low self-esteem, lack self-confidence and do not enjoy success in their lives. We must examine the problem in terms of such people's backgrounds, environment and how they live their lives. Sports infrastructure is important in this respect and I will reiterate this point later today during statements on the provision of national sporting facilities. We cannot invest too much money in getting young people involved in sports and outdoor activities generally. There is always a great debate over the money we give to the GAA. However, if we had to pay for what the GAA provides to every small community, and estimated the displacement cost of the crime prevented by engendering all that positive activity and a sense of people's place in their local communities, we could not buy it.

Due to the nature of the human race, most of the investment is in competitive sports which involve physical contact. However, the Minister of State should consider the fact that the young teenager who is drawn into drugs is not attracted to contact sports and may not be physically strong. Therefore, we also need to invest in other positive outdoor pursuits to ensure there is a place for everyone.

I ask the Minister of State to pursue such a policy. We can then consider the aspect of family support, which is crucial. The interim report makes reference to looking at the importance of family support. Nothing is more important. The input by schools will only be for a few hours per day whereas family input will be for 17 to 19 hours per day. The same is true for the community. We need to consider what is going wrong and how we can steer people away from the problem at that level.

The interim report makes a sensible suggestion regarding how we respond to the use of drugs, which I ask the Minister of State to consider. I believe he made some comment on it recently. One of the recommendations from the completed research in the report states: "A distinction should be made between the preventative measures aimed at occasional and experimental use of cannabis and that of the prevention of problem-use of other illegal substances, which are associated with deprivation." This is the reality. Let us not spend all the time of police and task forces on a handful of youngsters experimenting because that will happen anyway. If the experimentation becomes constant use it is a different matter and a call must be made.

Cannabis is a dangerous substance, as is tobacco. Tobacco, cannabis and alcohol are regarded as gateway drugs and users may move on to other drugs. We must recognise that not everybody who experiments with cannabis will become a regular user. Similarly, they will not necessarily move up the line. The same applies to so-called recreational drugs, such as ecstasy and others of that genre. Users of these drugs will not necessarily move on. Unfortunately, perhaps, those drugs have become part of the culture of the day. We must take responsibility for some of that. We have created a climate in which this is now the social norm. We must all — not just the Government and families — accept some share of the blame in this regard.

I compliment the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs on its new aggressive, assertive, highly-focused and very effective campaign on the use of cocaine, which is a dangerous drug. It is a killer and is as dangerous as heroin. The idea that it is a drug that can be used at weekends for recreation and forgotten about afterwards is inaccurate. It is highly addictive and many people are drawn into its use on the basis that they can take it on a night out and put it behind them. Unfortunately, many people are sucked into it, become dependent and addicted, and their lives are destroyed.

We need to be aware that a huge abuse of cocaine is taking place in this city. The action taken by the Department has been very important and I hope it produces results. This is the kind of approach that should be taken. It is not about telling people: "Don't do it; there's a risk." We know there is a risk, which will attract young people. The reality of cocaine is that those who begin to use it tend to be mature people with considerable excess money who should have more sense. However, in taking the drug they are making one more attempt to find a new life experience, which is sad. It is wrecking lives, families and businesses.

The solution must start with self-esteem. The problem lies with people with a very poor self-image, who have little success and feel there is nothing in their lives for them. People revert to drug use when they leave prison or even when they go into prison. They often go back on drugs again following a difficult detoxification process. This is because the circumstances that lead them to use in the first place bring them back to drugs afterwards. For this reason rehabilitation support structures are equally important. We should at least hope that those who have been through detoxification and have kicked the habit for any period get all the support necessary to ensure they do not go back to drug use.

I congratulate the Minister of State on his new post. I hope he will make a success of it. He will put energy into it. I would like to be associated with the comments of Senator White regarding Deputy Eoin Ryan during the period he spent as Minister of State with responsibility for addressing the problem of drugs. He did a superb job. I do not say this in any patronising way. He gained the confidence of people. I saw him in the north side of the city on many occasions dealing with community groups that welcomed him in a way that most politicians are not normally welcomed in such situations. Spending time with the various groups dealing with drug addiction and abuse within the inner city in particular is well worthwhile and gives credibility to the role of the Minister of State. I wish him well.

Ann Ormonde (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister of State and wish him well in his brief. I have listened to him debating this matter. He has great empathy for the subject. Today we are holding a timely mid-term review of how the strategy is working. The survey on the prevalence of different types of drugs is useful as it is important to have the facts. We may have to revamp our strategy based on the kinds of drugs and the mix of drugs being used. The emphasis seems to be changing and cocaine appears to be the most offensive in the way it destroys people mentally and physically. As this strategy will run until 2008, we need to consider how to upgrade it for the next few years. It is worth taking stock every few months.

Having read the input of the Minister of State, we appear to be focusing on four pillars: the supply of drugs, their reduction, prevention and treatment. The answer to the question of where we go from here can be found through research. In his contribution, the Minister of State highlighted prevention, with which I am familiar from my other work as a teacher in a deprived area. I was able to detect the source of the problems. Considerable concentration needs to be placed on training professional people to detect the problem, which will help with prevention particularly among young people. We can all spot such people in a classroom through their characteristics.

Special in-service training should be given to those teachers. Not every teacher is good at this. It is not possible to simply give guidelines to all teachers in a staff-room. Certain teachers are excellent at spotting what is wrong and noticing the dysfunctional backgrounds of families. This is where it breaks down. It is important that the Department of Education and Science along with the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs should have in-service programmes to update teachers.

Social and personal health education is working well in the school context. However, students pull down the shutters when they leave school in the afternoon and go into a different environment. The programme cannot be implemented in isolation, it must be school and community-led. It must start from the bottom up and there is no better place to do that than the local drugs task force. We should revamp them to attract people who will be anxious to work closely with the schools so we can spot the problem before it becomes serious.

The health boards have a role to play. The changes in health board structure will have to be taken into consideration because everything else will change accordingly and we must look at how the system will work from now on. The concept of an awareness programme exists but there is no sign of it on television or radio. Such a programme would form part of the prevention effort.

This is a complex area, taking in health boards, the Department of Education and Science, community programmes and FÁS. In the process of delivering programmes, there can be such an overlap that the message is lost and we must streamline the next phase to ensure that does not happen. Great work is being done but we should tidy up certain areas, something the community would welcome.

People have grown tired so we must motivate the community leaders. The approach to one area with one particular drug problem is not necessarily suitable for another area with a problem with a different drug. People must be invigorated by allowing them to deliver programmes that work.

Young people have a role to play, as do parents. The home school liaison programme has grown tired. Teachers in the area were out visiting parents once a week but then it fell to once a month as people became lackadaisical. The programme should be re-examined because it was very helpful in detecting dysfunctional family backgrounds. Youngsters with low self-esteem could be suffering as a result of alcohol in the home and teachers are the best at spotting that, particularly at primary level. I hope those on the national advisory board to the home school liaison programme will take on these issues. Small is beautiful, however, and if the local scene is handled properly, success will come from the bottom up. If the community works together in a street where the problem is spotted, it should be possible to prevent it from becoming serious.

The health boards are involved in treatment but different treatments are required for different drugs. How do we go about rehabilitation? Are there enough programmes to absorb people? Certain personalities may not fit into some programmes, with shy children being placed on unsuitable community employment schemes. People must be in the right programme to give them their confidence back because if they feel they are making a contribution, this is a first step back to health. Programmes must be suitable in order that the former user feels good and recognises why he or she took drugs. Child care facilities are also needed because often there are problems when the drug user has children. This is another area we should examine in the coming years. Great work is being done but it is always worthwhile revisiting the programme to see if we can improve it.

I compliment the gardaí on the great work they are doing in preventing drugs coming into the country. Customs officers and gardaí are keeping watch around the coasts and have made many seizures.

Prevention and treatment are vital and if we revamp these areas, we will be successful. The Minister of State is doing great work; I read the report today and the survey contained therein was excellent. We must motivate new leaders to re-energise the local scene and involve parents, teachers and the community. We must ensure FÁS has programmes that will suit the different personalities of people coming off drugs. I look forward to the Minister of State coming into the House a year from now to see what progress we have made.

Brendan Ryan (Labour)
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This is an important issue, although I see it differently from other people. We must focus on where this is a problem and keep a perspective on the general issue of the use of illegal substances. Some communities have been devastated by one particular drug but a significant proportion of our young people are at least occasional users of an entirely different drug. However politically difficult it may be, anyone who has worked in or been involved with primary education knows that by inserting the word "drugs" into the title of a meeting, there will be standing room only, whereas, if "illiteracy","alcohol" or "tobacco" are inserted, only a small percentage will attend. We must restore that perspective.

I teach in a third level institution with a daily population of almost 10,000 young people between the ages of, perhaps, 17 and 22 or 23. From talking to those who provide support for those 10,000 young people, one finds there is drug use, particularly of cannabis and, to a degree, ecstasy. However, personal or other problems, serious emotional distress or physical harm as a result of such drug use are rare enough.

What concerns me and many others, is the prevalence of alcohol misuse among relatively affluent and well-educated young people. I am concerned that the number of people under 25 years of age presenting at hospitals due to physical or other harm done to themselves because of habitual abuse of alcohol, and not because they are drunk, is going up quite dramatically. In terms of the impact on our society, I still retain the view that alcohol will end up doing far more harm in society generally. I fully accept there are areas in our society where one drug has had a devastating impact and I will come to that issue. It is a reproach to us all that this blight was allowed to descend on very poor communities with the perception in those communities of indifference on the part of the rest of us. Nevertheless, it is important to keep a perspective.

I am increasingly impatient with any attempt to talk generically about drugs as diverse as cannabis, ecstasy, cocaine and heroin. The only thing they have in common is that they are illegal. In any spectrum, however one views it — this is not an argument about legalising it or otherwise — cannabis is more like alcohol than heroin in terms of its effect and medium and long-term consequences. The national advisory committee commissioned a quite detailed study on the impact of cannabis. It took me a while to dig it out because its website was a bit peculiar this morning, but the report is a remarkably balanced document which everybody who feels they want to make categorical pronouncements about the impact of cannabis should read.

I would not encourage any young person to start to smoke cannabis at 17, 18 or 19 years of age. I would prefer if young people did not start to drink until they were older than that, until they were a bit more rooted in the ground and in the world and had the maturity to deal with any kind of mood altering substance. Let us not be under any illusion — alcohol alters one's mood, consciousness and perceptions every bit as much as cannabis. Let us not argue about medium or long-term difficulties.

The report the NACD commissioned on the impact of cannabis is extremely nuanced and well-balanced and is a fine piece of work of which we should all be aware if we are to make pronouncements about this. It is very difficult to convince literate, educated young people that the same approach should be applied to them if they are occasional users of cannabis as to somebody who is an occasional user of cocaine or heroin. We are in the unique position where, for the first time in history, young people are probably better educated, more informed and more knowledgeable about many issues than the previous generation. We need to get a perspective on all of this.

We must get away from absolutism, whether absolute permissiveness or absolute prevention. We must look at what works to achieve the appropriate result. We want what works to minimise the human harm that results from the use of mind altering substances, whether profoundly addictive like heroin or debatably addictive like, perhaps, consistent use of cannabis. We need, therefore, to begin to talk about these substances. I would not be happy if there was any possibility that a young person could end up with a criminal record simply for having in his or her possession a small quantity of cannabis. Whatever lesson we are trying to offer society, criminalising individuals who possess small quantities of cannabis is a lesson which will suggest to young people that the older generation, the Garda and others are not in touch with the realities of life. I do not have a simple solution to this because decriminalisation can draw in people from outside the country, as has been the experience in the Netherlands.

By and large, the Garda operates a sensible, pragmatic approach to this issue which it operated even 30 or 40 years when I was a student. What concerns me, and people who have spoken to me, is the belief that the pragmatic policy that might be used vis-À-vis bright young students from Foxrock or Montenotte where I live in Cork might not be the same as that used in respect of a 16 year old from Farranree or Togher in Cork or the inner city of Dublin. Similar approaches should be used as it is just as wrong, or probably worse, to destroy the life prospects of such a youngster. There is an issue of perspective.

On the question of what works, I had the good fortune of spending a few days with Deputies Gregory, Durkan and Carey, with whom the Minister of State, Deputy Noel Ahern, is well acquainted, in St. Gallen, Switzerland, before the last election looking at a heroin prescription programme. Despite whatever emotional, hysterical headline one could generate, everybody we met, including public administrators, medical practitioners and the police, all felt it was a successful part of a harm reduction response to heroin. I do not want to spend my time outlining or boring the House with the details but as far as those people were concerned, it met a specific need. We met heroin addicts who were working and holding down normal jobs and who called into a clinic once a day and paid three Swiss francs for a supply and a clean needle. The irony was that the best quality heroin in Europe was being delivered to these clinics by the police in St. Gallen because of the need for security. However, it seemed to work.

One could easily be walked into saying we should do the same. Our professionals, rather than politicians, need to continue to look at what works to minimise harm and minimise the risks to the life prospects of young people, where it works and on what we should focus. It is not helped by any type of blanket approach. At a meeting in a secondary school in which I was involved, a very concerned parent asked a senior Garda officer when parents should worry that their son or daughter is on drugs. That is a legitimate question which is difficult to answer. If one's son or daughter is smoking cannabis once a fortnight, one will probably see no signs of any harm, if that is all he or she is doing. However, the garda in question, perhaps excessively, warned about teenagers becoming somewhat withdrawn, not paying as much attention to personal hygiene as formerly, changing their style of dress, etc. One mother with two or three teenage children said to me afterwards that this was the best description of a teenager she had heard in a long time. It involved a whole succession of indicators that are probably identifiable in some cases with the beginnings of a drug use habit, but are also characteristics of a large number of teenage children as they go through various phases. We need to be sure we are not frightening parents into believing that every time they have an awkward, sullen, withdrawn son or daughter walking into his or her room and not talking, the most likely cause is drug abuse. The chances are that the most likely cause of such behaviour is the fact that they are teenagers in the first place.

We need to realise again and again that, by and large, young people are bright, well-informed and wary of authority which to them does not appear to be honest. Listening to young people, including my own children, they assure me, as all children assure their parents, that they would never touch illegal substances. How many children tell their parents the opposite? I choose to and do believe they are telling me the truth. However, they say many of their friends would be singularly unimpressed by most of what is said to them because it comes from older people. They are sceptical as to whether these older people know any more than they do. There is a large amount of peer to peer work to be done, perhaps by young people who have had a serious drug abuse problem and have managed to deal with it.

In conclusion, I believe there are two different issues to be dealt with. One is the recreational use of substances varying from cannabis through cocaine. I do not agree with Senator O'Toole. Cocaine in this country is predominantly a drug of affluence rather than one of poverty, although I am sure there are poor people who use it. However, if we did not have the extraordinary prevalence of endemic poverty among some communities in this country, the risk of people turning to heroin as an outlet from that misery would be spectacularly reduced.

I recall Deputy Gregory talking about the fact that all through the 1980s it was impossible to get the authorities to deal with the selling of heroin in inner city communities. There was always a belief that they were targeting the big people and it could not be done. Eventually the Concerned Parents Against Drugs body was set up. As Deputy Gregory informed me, the prompt conclusion was that suddenly there was no shortage of gardaí to mind the concerned parents because it was alleged they had subversive links. Many people legitimately asked Deputy Gregory how it was possible for the authorities to find enough gardaí to control the concerned parents when they were trying to do something about drugs, but could not find any to do something about the drugs problem beforehand. I believe it is an omission from all drugs policy not to realise that the elimination of scandalous levels of income and educational inequality in this country would together do as much to reduce the risk of serious damage from drug misuse as all of these welcome initiatives together.

Fergal Browne (Fine Gael)
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I congratulate the Minister of State on his reappointment. However, based on results I believe he was lucky to be reappointed. The Government is extremely vulnerable in this area. The figures speak for themselves. We cannot blame the Minister of State for the drug problem. However, the main responsibility of the Government and the Minister of State is, in the first place, to allocate funding to the organisations and then ensure they use it properly and are adequately resourced. He has failed miserably in that area, as has the Government collectively. Figures revealed by the Health Research Board now show that the use of heroin in counties outside Dublin has increased fourfold.

Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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That is not correct.

Fergal Browne (Fine Gael)
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Those are the figures we have been given.

Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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The Senator should get his facts right.

Fergal Browne (Fine Gael)
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The drugs task force and regional services are under-resourced. I understand they have been given budgets, but mainly for administrative purposes and not necessarily the funding they require to carry out necessary works. The Government promised to spend €2 billion on the RAPID progamme. In my own constituency Graiguecullen and Tullow Road in Carlow benefited from that programme. However, the figures we were given last month indicate that only €10 million was spent out of the €2 billion, equivalent to 0.5%. It is one matter to speak of a budget, and another to give it to the groups concerned. I was amazed to learn that the crime figures released in July show a 30% drop in the number of convictions for drug supply and sales. That means either the sale and supply of drugs has decreased or, more likely, that the gardaí are not catching people. I know for certain that in Carlow the sale and supply of drugs has not decreased by 30%.

Cyprian Brady (Fianna Fail)
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Or else the strategy is working.

Fergal Browne (Fine Gael)
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If anything, the sale and supply of drugs has gone up. That is proved every week in the newspaper where the local judge is continually talking about the drug problem in Carlow. I hear it myself. Gardaí in Carlow tell me that drug addicts are injecting themselves in the eyeball. Their veins are so badly damaged in other parts of the body that they get some type of buzz from using the drug in this way. In one instance I was told by a garda that the dealers in Carlow town are so terrified of their customers they opted to turn themselves into the Garda station for protection. This is hard to believe but I have been told this directly by gardaí who requested me to raise the matter at national level in the Seanad and ask that the necessary resources be given to them. They literally cannot man the station at the moment.

Ten regional drug task forces were set up nationally as promised under the national drugs strategy for 2001-08. In reality they have achieved little on the ground. In 2003 and 2004, budgetary allocations to the regional drug task forces were only sufficient to cover administrative costs, approximately €60,000 per task force area. That means there are still no active drug prevention programmes in most areas outside Dublin. Senator White earlier alluded to the fact that there are now almost 14,500 heroin users in the State, with nearly 12,500 in the Dublin area alone. The use of heroin in the counties outside Dublin, including Wicklow, Carlow, Meath, Longford, Westmeath and Louth has increased fourfold since 1997. That was reported last year in The Irish Times and was not refuted.

The Merchants Quay drug centre, which is the largest voluntary drug centre in the State, has suffered a cut in funding. Despite the use of its services by increasing numbers of heroin addicts each year, the centre's funding has not increased since 2001. There are just 200 residential treatment beds for over 15,000 heroin addicts in Dublin and a 15-week wait for detoxification beds in the James Connolly Memorial Hospital in Blanchardstown. The ratio of councillors to addicts remains very low at State centres. Of the 15,000 heroin addicts in Dublin, 50% are not receiving any treatment.

The failure by the Government to honour its commitment to provide an extra 2,000 gardaí is clearly having an impact in this area. The commitment should have seen the appointment of 400 new gardaí per annum, on which basis approximately 1,000 members of the force should have passed out over the two and a half years since the election of the Government. That this has not happened is having a significant impact on the fight against drugs.