Dail Debates Drug Abuse

15 Jun 2006

On May 23rd & 24th the Dail debated a motion on Drug Abuse put forward by Deputy Sean Crowe; the Government put forward a counter amendment. The Government's amended motion was passed with 68 votes in favour and 61 against. You can read the full debate and find out how your local representatives voted here: May 23rd May 24th

Motion

That Dáil Éireann, recognising the many diverse and profound problems for individuals and for society caused by the misuse of drugs, both legal and illegal; affirms:

• the right of children, young persons, adults, families and communities to be protected from the harmful effects of drugs and associated crime;
• the right of all to be educated about the damaging effects of the misuse of drugs;
• the right of people to grow up in communities free from poverty, social exclusion and inequality, which are undoubtedly factors which have influenced drug misuse;

Views with grave concern the escalating impact of problem drug use in Irish society including:

• the rapidly increasing use of cocaine throughout the country;
• the devastating effect of heroin use, in particular, in many working-class communities and now spreading to every town and village in Ireland;
• the hurt and pain suffered by the families of addicts due to drug use, drug dealers and the inadequate and late response of statutory bodies;
• the emergence of a trade in crack cocaine in Dublin;
• the high level of crime which is fuelled by the drugs trade;
• the damage to public health caused by growing levels of drug misuse and addiction; and
• the failure of the Health Service Executive to provide harm reduction facilities throughout the State;

Calls on the Government to acknowledge the many shortfalls in policy and implementation of policy and to recommit itself to the overall strategic objective of the National Drugs Strategy 2001- 2008 which is to significantly reduce the harm caused to individuals and society by the misuse of drugs through a concerted focus on supply reduction, prevention, treatment and research; to that end, mandates the Government to:

-- Ensure the relentless pursuit of major drug traffickers and ring-fence funds seized from them for community development in those neighbourhoods worst affected by the drugs scourge;

-- Provide for all appropriate sanctions for those involved in the drug trade, including prison sentences for drug barons which reflect the devastating impact of their activities on individuals, families and communities, as well as increased use of alternatives to prison for certain drug-related crimes where this would be more appropriate;

-- Increase the resources available to the Garda Síochána national drugs unit, local drugs units and juvenile liaison officers;

-- Ensure a genuine partnership between the Garda Síochána and local communities, given that the Garda Síochána Act 2005 failed to introduce adequate structures for accountability and genuine community policing;

-- Introduce local accountability structures at district level such as community policing partnerships or, at least, to roll out the joint policing committees and community policing fora provided for by the Garda Síochána Act 2005 across the Twenty-six Counties as a matter of urgency;

-- Reverse the current approach to drug abuse in prisons to ensure that prisoners have access to health care and prevention policies and services including harm reduction strategies equivalent to those available in the wider community;

-- Immediately formulate, resource and implement an action plan to combat spiralling cocaine use;

-- Dedicate adequate funding to significantly expand the availability of drug treatment and to eliminate waiting lists for treatment;

-- Encourage the Health Service Executive to return to real partnership with community and voluntary groups in addressing problematic drug use;

-- Expand the spectrum of services available so that all drug users who want to avail of treatment and other services can do so;

-- Ensure that drug users also have access to the other counselling and medical services they need, without discrimination;

-- Recognise the right of all grandparents looking after the children of their addict sons and daughters to be fully supported in line with provision for foster parents and accordingly increase the orphan-guardian allowance;

-- Ensure the take-up of widespread and well resourced education programmes and campaigns for children and parents against the misuse of drugs, in school, at home and in the community;

-- Seriously address poverty and inequality in this State, including educational disadvantage, and accordingly provide Early Start programmes in all RAPID areas;

-- Work on an all-Ireland basis to ensure the application of the strategic objectives of the national drugs strategy to the island as a whole; and

Appoint a Minister of State with sole responsibility for drugs issues.

The Government moved the following amendment:

Minister of State at the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (Mr. N. Ahern): I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:

-- supports the Government on its ongoing implementation of the National Drugs Strategy 2001-2008;

-- notes that the key finding of the mid-term review of the national drugs strategy in 2005 was that the current aims and objectives of the strategy are fundamentally sound and that progress was being made across the four pillars of the strategy;

-- recognises the significant work being done under the four pillars of the national drugs strategy, supply reduction, prevention, treatment and research and the decision to include a fifth pillar of rehabilitation to further focus initiatives in that area;

-- welcomes the significant increase in funding provided this year for drugs initiatives;

-- commends the partnership approach to tackling the drugs issue across Departments, agencies and the community and voluntary sectors;

-- commends the Health Services Executive on its role in developing appropriate responses to problematic drug use through significantly increased treatment services;

-- commends the level of success of the Garda and customs services in relation to drug seizures and the work of the Garda in countering drugs misuse on a countrywide basis and in a spirit of partnership with local communities;

-- endorses the initiatives outlined in the recently published Irish Prison Service drugs strategy Keeping Drugs Out of Prisons;

-- endorses the national action plan against poverty and social inclusion and the five year educational plan, Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools, which commenced in 2005;

-- welcomes the all-island initiatives in relation to the problem of drug misuse in Ireland; and

-- supports the Minister of State, Deputy Ahern, in his wholehearted commitment to, and successful handling of, the Government's drive against the problems of drug misuse in our society.