I beg to move:—
That the Dáil approves of the International Convention for Limiting the Manufacture and Regulating the Distribution of Narcotic Drugs, and Protocol of Signature, signed at Geneva, on the 13th day of July, 1931, a copy of which was laid on the Table of the Dáil on the 31st day of March, 1933, and recommends the Executive Council to take the necessary steps to accede to the said International Convention and Protocol of Signature.
I have a statement here which is rather long. If I tried to summarise it perhaps it would be equally as long, and possibly it is just as well that I should read it to the House. It reads:—
In 1931, a Conference was held at Geneva, under the auspices of the League of Nations, for the purpose of limiting to strict medical needs by international agreement, the manufacture of narcotic drugs. This Conference, in which more than 50 States took part, adopted a Convention, to which the formal accession of the Irish Free State is now proposed.
The first Opium Convention, which was signed at The Hague in 1912, organised the national control of the internal traffic in narcotic drugs. Under that Convention the international trade was not subjected to any restrictions. The Convention of 1925, which was ratified by the Irish Free State on the 1st September, 1931, bridged this gap by providing for the control of the international traffic by means of a system of importation and exportation permits. Thus, a country, party to the 1925 Convention, is permitted to export habit-forming drugs only on presentation of a certificate of authorisation to import, obtained specially from the authorities of the importing country in respect of each delivery. A central committee, composed of eight members appointed by the Council of the League receives periodically from all the contracting States full details of their production, manufacture, consumption, importation and exportation of drugs, and these reports enable the committee to watch the movement of the international market.
The control provided for in the 1925 Convention was, however, found to be insufficient to curb the illicit trade in habit-forming drugs. The Convention did not limit the manufacture of drugs, which continued to be in excess of medical necessities, and it was clear that the excess found its way into the illicit traffic. It was decided, therefore, by the League of Nations that a serious effort should be made to bring about a limitation of manufacture. There were many difficulties, however, in securing this, e.g., the difficulty of fixing the total amount of the world requirements; of apportioning restrictive quotas which would be accepted by the different manufacturing countries; and of apportioning its due quota of the manufactured drugs to each consuming country.
The Convention of 13th July, 1931, is the result of the discussions at the Conference on limitation of manufacture. Under this Convention, the contracting parties bind themselves to furnish annually to the Central Permanent Committee, set up under the Convention of 1925, an estimate, in a particular form, of the quantity of each drug required for their medical and scientific needs, reserve stocks, Government stocks, export, etc. On the basis of the estimates received, a total world figure of manufacture will be established, and each manufacturing country party to the Convention will bind itself to manufacture only the quantities of drugs required to satisfy its own internal needs, within the limits of the estimates furnished annually to the Central Committee, and to enable it to execute the orders, accompanied by importation certificates received from other countries. It will be the duty of the Central Committee to verify that the orders given by importing countries do not exceed the annual estimates of their requirements.
In addition to the provisions relation to the estimates, limitation of manufacture, prohibitions and restrictions, the Convention also contains provisions relating to the measures of control to be exercised by the contracting parties, and the administrative and general provisions.
The present Convention shall come into force 90 days after the Secretary General of the League of Nations has received the ratifications or accessions of twenty-five States, including any four of the following: France, Germany, Great Britain, Japan Netherlands, Switzerland, Turkey, U.S.A.
In the Protocol of Signature, the parties agree that if on July 13th, 1933, the Convention is not in force, a new Conference of the States which have signed or acceded to the Convention may be held to consider what further measures should be taken in the matter. Note is also taken of a reservation made by the Japanese Government on the subject of crude morphine resulting from the manufacture of prepared opium in the factory of the Government-General of Formosa.
The Government of the United States, which is specially interested in all measures aimed at the suppression of illicit traffic in drugs, has urged the Government of the Irish Free State, amongst other Governments, to accede to the Convention on limitation before the 13th April, 1933, in order that the Convention may come into force on the 13th July, 1933, the date named in the Protocol of Signature. It is proposed, therefore, to accede at once to the Convention on behalf of the Irish Free State. The Irish Free State is not a "manufacturing country" of narcotic drugs, but nevertheless it is essential if effective control of the illicit traffic is to be secured that all countries, even those not directly affected, should accept the obligations of the Convention.
The legislation in force in this country is not at present sufficient to enable the provisions of the Drugs Conventions of 1925 and 1931 to be carried out, as the law at present in force is contained in the Dangerous Drugs Act, 1920. As the latter Act has now to be amended in order that it may provide for the obligations of the Convention of 1925 of which the Irish Free State is a party, it is proposed that a complete code of laws should be introduced, embodying in a single statute of the Oireachtas not only the Dangerous Drugs Act, 1920. but also the legislation involved by our acceptance of the Conventions of 1925 and 1931. A Bill is accordingly at present being drafted which the Minister for Justice will introduce in the Dáil as early as possible. The Minister for External Affairs is advised that it will meet the requirements of the Convention of 1931 if, when the Irish Free State's instrument of accession is being deposited, the Secretary General of the League is informed that the necessary legislation giving effect to the provisions of the Convention will be in force at an early date.