Vol. 430 No. 2
14 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Health the number of adults and children who died from the effects of solvent abuse in each of the past five years; if he has satisfied himself that the powers available under section 74 of the Child Care Act, 1991 are adequate to deal with the problem; if he intends to initiate any new campaign to warn children of the dangers of solvent abuse; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
79 Mr. McGrath asked the Minister for Health the action, if any, he proposes to take to tackle the abuse of domestic and commercial solvents by young people.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 14 and 79 together.
The information requested by Deputy McManus in relation to fatalities from the effects of solvent abuse is at present being collated — I hope to receive it this afternoon — and I shall forward it to the Deputy as soon as possible.
Section 74 of the Child Care Act, 1991, which came into operation on 1, December 1991, makes it an offence for a person to sell, offer or make available any substance to a minor where the person has reason to believe that the substance or its fumes will be inhaled for the porpose of causing intoxification. The penalty for an offence is a fine of up to £1,000 and/or up to 12 months' imprisonment. The section also empowers the Garda to seize substances in the possession of children in public places which they suspect are being abused. As the Deputies opposite might recall, an Opposition amendment was accepted by the Minister in this regard.
The enforcement of section 74 is a matter for the Garda and I understand from my colleague, the Minister for Justice, that the Garda authorities are not aware of any difficulties in the operation of the provision.
The issue of drug and solvent abuse is always a cause of concern and I am keen that every effort possible is made to educate our young people with regard to the effects of misuse of drugs. This implies not only the giving of information about the various substances of abuse at the appropriate age, but providing young people with opportunities to develop skills, awareness and self esteem that will enable them to resist pressures to become involved in potentially harmful drug usage.
To this end the Health Promotion Unit of my Department has in place a number of initiatives designed to combat drug misuse and I am satisfied that these represent a comprehensive response to the problem. However, this is a constantly changing problem and we are vigilant to ensure that our prevention efforts are properly focused and effective.
In addressing the complexity of this problem it is important that prevention efforts be multi-sectoral and multi-disciplinary in nature and, for this reason our education efforts are often done in co-operation with other Government Departments and agencies.
This approach has led to co-operation between my Department and other Departments and agencies in producing a substance abuse prevention programme, a drink awareness for youth programme, specific solvent abuse prevention materials and a community based training programme to tackle issues at local level.
Another significant even which involved many Departments and agencies was European Drug Prevention Week which took place from 16-22 November last year. The activities of this event were co-ordinated by my Department and involved the Departments of Education, Justice and Labour as well as many non-statutory and voluntary agencies. The event served to raise awareness about the vast range of initiatives in place to help combat drug misuse among young people. It also saw the introduction of several new initiatives. It is envisaged that this project, which was supported by the European Commission, will be repeated every two or three years.
Although the Minister does not have any figures it is estimated that there are ten fatalities every year. In view of the recent tragic case in which a 12 year old girl died as a result of solvent abuse is the Minister not concerned about the failure of his Department to provide adequate treatment for those under 18 years of age? I am shocked that the Minister did not deal with this matter in his reply. It is quite clear that adequate treatment is not available for those under 18 years of age — who are most prone to this form of addiction — particularly if they live outside Dublin. How does the Minister, who claims to be a reforming Minister, intend to tackle this serious problem for young people who, as I said, are most at risk? It is probably not possible to legislate in this regard given that the solvents in question are easily accessible. Will the Minister indicate what initiatives he intends to take to cope with this problem? I have no doubt that if it is not dealt with it will become worse in the future. Finally, will the Minister approach manufacturers to see if it would be possible, given advances in technology, to make these substances unappealing so that they would be repellent to people? This problem must be tackled on a number of fronts because it is far too easy for young children to get their hands on these solvents and abuse them, thereby putting their lives at risk. The kernel of the problem is the failure of the Department to provide adequate treatment for children addicted to solvents and, sadly, this problem will not go away.
I agree with a number of the Deputy's points and I am very concerned about the matter. This issue was discussed at great length when specific sections of the Child Care Act, 1991 were debated. In relation to the specific case mentioned by the Deputy it is ironic that the provisions of the Act proved to be effective because, when the child in question sought to purchase the solvent, she was refused. Unfortunately, an older person acquired it for her, with tragic consequences. The retailer in question knew the legal situation and thus the provisions proved to be effective. The question of making contact with the manufacturers was also discussed when the Child Care Bill, 1991 was debated. As Minister for Health, I will again examine this matter — there is some merit in what the Deputy said — to see if solvents can be made less attractive but I presume it is the prospect of intoxification that is most attractive rather than anything else. There are a number of training and education programmes which I hope will prevent substance abuse. In regard to the question of the provision of treatment for those addicted to substances, as the Deputy rightly said, I did not provide the details in my initial reply but I shall communicate with her when they become available. I will check the numbers to see if there are any grounds for worry and whether people are in a position to avail of counselling and support services.
I am concerned that the Minister is not aware of what is available. It is quite clear that no facilities are available for children addicted to solvents, particularly if their families are not in a position to pay for private treatment facilities. In addressing the lack of services I hope the Minister will pay particular attention to the fact that if one is poor it is practically impossible to obtain comprehensive treatment, particularly for someone under 18 years of age. This is a further inequity for those whose lives are at risk in relation to this kind of abuse.
I will certainly take what the Deputy said into account. I listed a number of substance abuse prevention programmes and I do not want to take up the time of the House by going through them again in detail. I believe a good framework has been put in place. It is not possible to identify everybody with an addiction but I will see if the mechanisms of the Outreach programme can be improved.
