Seán Ryan (Dublin North, Labour)
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Question 59: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs his views on whether there should be a review of the capacity of senior civil servants to lead a cohesive drugs strategy; his further views on whether senior Gardaí and judges should be given specialised training and education in relation to the national drugs problem; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42846/06]

Emmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)
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Question 64: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs his views on the recent statement from the Drug Policy Action Group that the Government and Garda authorities need to completely rethink and liberalise their approach to the illicit drug trade due to the fact that current practices are doing more harm than good; if his attention has been drawn to the group's analysis that the war on drugs is in large part being lost because senior Government officials, judges and the Gardaí at the coalface of the problem do not understand the issues; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42844/06]

Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 59 and 64 together.

I do not accept the conclusion of the Drug Policy Action Group paper that the Government and Garda authorities need to completely rethink and liberalise their approach to the illicit drug trade nor do I agree that senior Government officials, judges and Gardaí at the coalface of the drugs problem do not understand the issues.

In the first instance, I would point out that the paper includes a disclaimer advising that the views expressed are those of the authors only and are not necessarily the views of all members of the Drugs Action policy Group.

The Mid-Term review of the National Drugs Strategy (NDS), which was completed in 2005, found that the current aims and objectives of the Strategy are fundamentally sound and that progress is being made across the pillars. The Steering Group for that review included representatives from the NDST and the community and voluntary sectors, and an extensive public consultation process was also undertaken at that time.

I believe that there are encouraging signs of progress over the past couple of years — be it in the areas of drug seizures, the expansion of treatment services, the establishment of the Regional Drugs Task Forces, prevention programmes in schools or the increasing focus on rehabilitation.

With respect to an international perspective on whether a policy of containment works, the United Nations Office for Drugs Control (UNODC) in its 2006 report argues that there is ample evidence that the approach of making drugs illegal, which is broadly adopted internationally, is effective and this rebuts a fundamental plank of the paper's thesis on the need for a liberalisation of the approach in place.

Illegal drug use is a global issue and so our efforts to tackle it in Ireland must be seen in that context. Against this background, I feel that it is naïve to believe that Ireland can be kept totally drug-free. It is my view that a change in the law regarding the possession of cannabis, or a reclassification of the drug, would be of no benefit whatsoever in tackling drug use here — in fact, I think that it would aggravate the problem.

While cannabis may not be as dangerous as some other drugs, the evidence is that it is damaging to the physical and mental health of the user, particularly the young and those who are heavy users. A recent report by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Sport, Tourism, Community, Rural & Gaeltacht Affairs emphasises these points.