I wish to share my time with Deputy Foxe.
Private Members' Business. - Misuse of Drugs Bill, 1996: Second Stage (Resumed).
Question again proposed: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."
Is that agreed? Agreed.
I congratulate Deputy O'Donoghue on bringing this Bill before the House. Drugs and law and order are the present topics of conversation particularly in rural areas where people, especially old people in isolated areas, live in constant fear. Drug-related crime has been indentified as accounting for approximately 80 per cent of all indictable offences during the last six months of 1995. During that time the Garda made 2,835 drug seizures, a 9 per cent increase on the figure for the same period in 1994.
In mid-1995 the Minister for Justice announced a legislative initiative against drug traffickers which would have given the Garda, under the supervision of the courts, the power to detain suspected drug traffickers for up to seven days. It would also have given a Garda superintendent the power to issue search warrants in drugs-related cases and have given Customs and Excise officials the power to question persons arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking. It is a major disappointment that this measure has not been introduced to date. The delay in introducing the necessary legislation has ensured an open market for drug traffickers. When giving details last October of the proposed legislation which she said was agreed by the Cabinet the Minister stated: "The report on which my proposals are based also identifies certain deficiencies in the law as it stands as regards the power of the law enforcement agencies to take effective action against drug traffickers".
I wish to pay special tribute to the Garda drug squad which carries out excellent work with limited resources. At times it has been subjected to much criticism which is most unreasonable and unfair to the Garda force. The Garda drug section is responsible for the detection of offences in relation to the importation, supply and possession of controlled drugs. It is also responsible for co-ordinating the efforts of local drug units in various stations. The drug squad combines the role of enforcement and detection with an equal emphasis on education and prevention which entail liaison with the various statutory and voluntary agencies involved in drug-related treatment and counselling.
The drug squad maintains strong links with the Customs and Excise service in counteracting drug smuggling and enjoys good co-operation with foreign police forces. It also participates in approximately 300 lectures and drug demonstrations annualy for community groups and schools. It continues to address the drug problem in co-operation with other agencies and also enforces the law.
The most disturbing increase in drugs relates to the use of heroin which is still mainly confined to Dublin city and county. The very large increase in the use of ecstasy is attributable to cheap purchasing prices, over production abroad and the emergence of the rave disco dance scene in Dublin and venues in other areas. The tough law enforcement policies pursued by the Garda in Dublin have resulted in the closure of three rave premises.
I welcome the Bill and congratulate Deputy O'Donoghue on bringing it forward. The Government's tardiness in introducing measures to deal with crime has led to the introduction of Private Members' Bills to deal with the problem.
In recent times, particularly in the past six months, there has been an increase in the number of crimes against old people. Many of these people who are 70 and 80 years of age have been beaten, kicked, robbed, raped and terrorised; the criminals show how tough they are by kicking and beating them and tying them to chairs. In one case they threatened a 78-years-old Galway man that they would burn his eyes with a red hot poker and went so far as to burn his eyebrows. It is wrong to treat anyone like this and it is even worse to treat old people who have worked all their lives in this way.
The Government has missed a glorious opportunity to go a long way in curbing some of this crime. According to the Garda and prison officers, one of the major causes of crime is a lack of prison spaces. When the Government came into power it inherited a plan which would have provided an extra 150 prison spaces. However, it stopped work on the new prison after the wall was built. Some members of the Government said the work was merely being postponed, not stopped. In any event it missed a glorious opportunity to provide an additional 150 prison spaces. Yesterday the Minister said that 25 prison spaces would be made available in the Castlerea area for political prisoners. What will happen the Castlerea site when there are no more political prisoners, which we all hope will shortly be the case? It is important to refer also to the jobs which would be created in the locality by the Castlerea project.
We are told that there is one garda for every 200 people, if one disregards children and the elderly. Given that this is a reasonable ratio one must ask if the maximum use is being made of resources and whether gardaí are being deployed in the most beneficial and effective way. Transferring gardaí from stations in smaller towns and villages to bigger stations is not the way forward. Further consideration should be given to this issue.
If a lack of gardaí is not the problem then what is? Is it a lack of proper technology? In some cases the only technology needed is a car which can travel as fast as the one used by the criminals. The provision of phones in Garda cars would also be useful. In some cases the gardaí giving chase do not have the wherewithal to alert the gardaí in the next town to set up a road block. It is important to tackle the crime problem so that people cannot be terrorised in their homes.
I wish to share my time with Deputy John Connor.
Is that agreed? Agreed.
On a point of order, I was told by the Fianna Fáil Chief Whip that I could have five minutes at 7.5 p.m. Is that your information, a Cheann Comhairle?
I have no such information. I understood that Deputy Foley and the Independent Deputies would share time. Deputy Tom Foxe took up that time.
I will have to check the position.
It is interesting to note that when Fianna Fáil was in office the national co-ordinating committee on drug abuse, which was originally chaired by Deputy Noel Treacy and later by Deputy Chris Flood, met once or twice during a two year period.
It fell into decay and was abandoned. Now that Fianna Fáil is in Opposition, it is treating the related issues of drugs and crime with the seriousness they deserve. It is interesting and amazing how a period in Opposition refreshes the intellect. Fianna Fáil is now attempting to present itself as a party that would implement the policies it long since abandoned when in Government. It should rest assured that this Government has every intention of cleaning up the raggedness it left behind in our society. This will not be done overnight and it will be a slow process. However, with the determination of the three parties in Government, we will move forward collectively to bring about a more stable society which has been clearly destablised by the presence of Fianna Fáil in Government.
The link between drugs and crime is incontrovertible. It is estimated that around 80 per cent of all so-called petty crime is committed by drug abusers. The measures in this Bill, if refined further, would undoubtedly make life more difficult for drug dealers who prey on our young in every city, town and village in Ireland.
However, while well intentioned, certain sections of this Bill have not been fully thought through. Some aspects may only be slightly constitutional. That in itself is not an insurmountable obstacle; there are cases where the public good often demands constitutional change. However, I am concerned that measures such as the proposed seven day detention and fast tracking of drugs related cases could militate against innocent people caught up in the system. The concept of innocent until proven guilty must remain a cornerstone of our justice system. That is becoming increasingly blurred as justifiable public outrage at spiralling crime rates mounts. While I am not opposed in principle to Deputy O'Donoghue's proposals, I hope the debate on this Bill over the next fortnight will enable us to clarify some of the questions raised.
I am also anxious that comprehensive safeguards are built into whatever legislation finally emerges to ensure the fundamental rights of the individual are vindicated. I welcome section 9 (1) which provides that "persons convicted under the provisions of the Bill will not be granted temporary release save for exceptional humanitarian reasons.".
Commentators have alleged over recent weeks that the left in general and Democratic Left in particular is soft on crime. Nothing could be further from the truth. While safeguarding the rights of the innocent, it is vital that persons convicted of a crime should serve the sentence handed down to them by the courts. It is unacceptable that persons should be released on an ad hoc basis after only serving a few months of their sentences.
Temporary releases were originally intended partly as a compassionate measure and partly to help rehabilitate prisoners back into the community. In the past 36 years, temporary releases have become little more than a convenient instrument used by the Department of Justice to relieve the pressure on prison places. This was never intended by the authors of the 1960 Criminal Justice Act. There is an urgent need to review the whole operation of the system, not simply with regard to drug related crimes but also in connection with other serious offences. In this regard, I urge the Minister to consider establishing a parole board, as proposed in the programme, A Government of Renewal.
We also need to stop viewing prisons simply as an instrument of containment but rather as one of rehabilitation. There needs to be a co-ordinated policy of sentence management devised for each prisoner so we can ensure that the pattern of offending and reoffending is broken. With regard to drug related offences, we need to catch drug addicts at the beginning rather than the end of the drug abuse cycle and before they resort to crime.
This Bill deals with many issues concerning the supply of drugs but we also need to tackle the demand, which is where successive Governments have failed. However, there are still long queues of people waiting for life saving treatment that could not only save the life of the addict but possibly save the lives, and reduce the suffering, of thousands of victims of drug abusers who resort to crime to feed their addiction.
If these were ordinary patients suffering from some form of organic disease, there would be a national outcry. Instead, drug abusers are waiting for places on drug rehabilitation and methadone maintenance programmes and the political response to their plight from Dublin Fianna Fáil TDs and Senators, with the notable and honourable exception of Deputy Briscoe, is one of violent opposition to the opening of treatment centres. Fianna Fáil should stop playing cheap politics with this issue. Silence is only broken by the public outcry in an area where a drug treatment clinic is proposed and then the NIMBY factor comes into play. An important task now faces community leaders, especially politicians in giving leadership; to convince the public that they are far safer with drug treatment centres than without them.
Drugs, like any other product, are subject to the laws of the market. Ecstasy is currently available on the streets of Dublin for as little as £3 a tablet and its price is continuing to drop due to what can be termed as a glut in the market. Ecstasy tablets, like heroin, are ideal contraband. They are small, easily transported and, despite the drop in prices, are sold at enormous profits, attracting increasing numbers of people into this unsavoury dealing. Sadly, many young people do not view ecstasy as a real drug until such time as they or their friends suffer from its side effects.
I am totally opposed to legalising drugs in any form. However, we have to deal with the reality of drug abuse and attempt to minimise its consequences. In this regard, we should be brave and look at Manchester, where the police, in co-operation with city officials have developed an innovative approach designed to minimise the dangers of, and demand for, esctasy. Public information leaflets are handed out at nightclubs which while pointing out that ecstasy is illegal, explain how some of the health dangers posed by it can be averted. Youth workers circulate in nightclubs, dance halls and other places where ecstasy is known to be available not only to point out the dangers but also to provide help where needed.
It may be alleged that that is a drastic solution, but Manchester was confronted with a serious problem and Dublin, Cork and Limerick may soon be confronted with a problem of similar scale. I hope the criminal procedures proposed in the Bill to tackle the supply of drugs will be refined in the coming weeks and months. There are, however, other issues which need to be addressed urgently.
As we are all aware, drugs are not produced in this country. Neither marijuana nor poppies are grown here. Thanks to the excellent work of the Garda Síochána the attempts to establish an ecstasy plant were foiled. To eliminate the problem it must be tackled both in the countries of origin and at points of entry. Ecstasy is imported into the European Union from Eastern European countries, such as the former Czechoslovakia and Romania; heroin and cannabis resin, in huge quantities, from North Africa, Central Asia and South America.
It is known that Morocco is a major producer. Diplomatic steps must be taken to curb the flow of drugs from the Atlas Mountains which are being dumped on the market in huge quantities. The Department of Foreign Affairs must make representations to the King of Morocco and those countries which have embassies here to ensure co-operation between the respective police forces with a view to bringing the massive trade in drugs to an end.
This is the single greatest health issue facing society. Because of the illicit nature of drug abuse, we do not know precisely how many people are affected, but it is estimated that there are between 5,000 and 7,000 drug addicts in Dublin. This does not include those who take drugs occasionally. If one accepts that the figure of 5,000 is accurate, less than 20 per cent are receiving treatment. It is estimated that 860 are being treated under a methadone programme and a further 100 are undergoing other forms of treatment.
Detoxification was seen as the solution to drug addiction, but this has now been shown to be a myth. Under this procedure drugs are flushed from the body. This is the preferred option in our prisons where addicts undergo a five-day programme. Detoxification should be the end result of a comprehensive treatment programme. As the vast majority of detoxified addicts renew their addiction, the methadone maintenance programme is the key to resolving the problem.
Severe difficulties are being experienced in the south inner city of Dublin, extending through the working class communities of Crumlin and Drimnagh. As a member of the Eastern Health Board, I am familiar with its attempts to tackle the problem.
We should never under-estimate the excellent contribution made by various groups in the voluntary sector, such as the Merchant's Quay Centre in Dublin, which should be welcomed with open arms by the statutory bodies as one complements the other. The people involved in these groups deserve a medal for their efforts to curb what may be described as an unsavoury habit.
I plead with the Ministers concerned to make the necessary arrangements for the implementation of the Protocol dealing with the prescription of methadone produced by the previous Government in March 1993. It provides for the issue of treatment cards to addicts. The public and politicians of all persuasions must accept that the establishment of treatment centres is the first step in the process of wooing addicts away from a life of crime. Once chronic drug abusers have been stabilised they may be referred to their own general practitioners for further treatment. To allow this to happen the Protocol to which I have referred must be enshrined in legislation and agreement reached with the IMO. We must stop playing politics with this issue as it is a matter of life and death.
I thank Deputy Byrne for sharing his time with me. Before I came into the Chamber I was watching a report on television in which the results were given of the inquest into the circumstances surrounding the death of the unfortunate girl who died after taking a single ecstasy tablet in the United Kingdom. Her name escapes me, but her parents recently appeared on television here. The cause of death was swelling of the brain. This tragedy brings home to us the need to do something drastic to curb the problem given that drugs such as ecstasy, which has become part of youth culture, are now freely available.
I compliment Deputy O'Donoghue on introducing this Bill and I am delighted the Minister has decided not to oppose it. She is to introduce a Government Bill which I hope will not run the risk of being declared repugnant to the Constitution or encounter opposition from civil libertarians. Deputy Byrne highlighted the problems being experienced in his constituency. Until recently the problem was confined to Dublin, but drugs are now freely available in every town and village.
The Minister outlined the measures which have already been taken. These include the establishment of the new National Drugs Unit and a memorandum of understanding between the Garda Síochana and Customs Service, signed by the agency heads and endorsed by the Ministers concerned, the Ministers for Justice and Finance.
I urge the Minister to make maximum use of the resources available to Customs officers to ensure drug traffickers are apprehended and their activities brought to an end. Customs officers have unique powers, they can stop traffic to check fuel and so on. They should also have the power to set up random checkpoints to search vehicles they suspect are carrying drugs. Drugs are transported in vehicles from cities to small towns and villages around the country where there are pushers to distribute them. Given the pressure on Garda resources, I urge the Minister to deploy Customs officers, who are no longer tied up in Border duties, in this manner.
I welcome the Minister's announcement about additional prison spaces, which is particularly relevant to my constituency. I am delighted she acted speedily with the money she was allocated this year. A total of 278 additional prison places will be provided in the next 18 months, 233 of which will be made available before the end of the year. The Minister must be complimented on her initiative in that regard.
As an initial step, 25 of those places will be located in Castlerea and I want to scotch the rumours and dispel the fears of Deputy Foxe and others about that project.
They are justified.
Some of them are genuine, but others are mischievous. I understand the project was the subject of a heated debate in the House last night and that serious misrepresentations were put forward. I want to reasure Members in that regard. The Minister stated that the Government has agreed the further expansion of prison accommodation, with immediate recommencement of planning and development — which means building — of the women's prison in Dublin and on the remainder of the site at Castlerea, for prison purposes. Nothing could be more unequivocal. We are all aware of the battle that took place in Cabinet about the Castlerea project which was postponed last year, but it is now back on the rails.
In drawing up new plans for Castlerea, I appeal to the Minister to preserve the two architecturally significant buildings erected in the 1930s that make up St. Patricks's Hospital. They were built on the site of a property and house once occupied by Sir William Wilde, a famous medical man and father of the famous Oscar Wilde. Sir William's wife, who had long since been forgotten, is soon to be commemorated. Under the old plans it was proposed to destroy those two buildings but I hope that, as far as possible, they can be preserved. Even Mountjoy Prison has a certain architectural value.
From the outside only.
In developing the prison in Castlerea, we should at least retain the architectural aspect of the buildings that already exist.
I listened to a great deal of nonsense here and in my constituency about the postponement of the Castlerea prison project. As the site for the prison is still in the possession of the Western Health Board, it would not have been possible for the Minister to spend the money provided for it in the 1995 Estimates. There are 80 patients in the hospital who will not be removed until May. Deputies Geoghegan-Quinn and Bertie Ahern claimed credit for the provision of £1.5 million in the 1995 Estimates to build a wall. If they were honest they would have said there should also have been a financial provision to provide alternative accommodation for the patients in St. Patrick's Hospital, but they did not provide that money. It fell to the incoming Minister, Deputy Noonan, this time last year to provide £3.2 million for alternative accommodation for those patients. Approximately £2 million is being spent in the town of Castlerea converting a hotel into a hospital to accomodate those patients. The Minister could not have proceeded with the project in Castlerea in 1995 because there was not alternative accommodation for the geriatric and psychiatric patients in St. Patrick's Hospital. I am pleased that an excellent facility is being built for them, but that will not be ready until the end of May. Only then can the Minister start the substantive building programme that will provide additional prison spaces.
As additional prison spaces are fundamental in the battle against crime, if possible she should provide 200 spaces in Castlerea. When the bail laws are reformed many more people will be on remand. At present we have the lowest number of people on remand in Europe. When the law changes additional prison spaces will be required and the 278 proposed by the Minister will be quickly taken up. At least 150 places are necessary in Castlerea.
Time does not allow me to deal in depth with the drugs problem, but I am pleased to have had an opportunity to comment on the provision of prison spaces in Castlerea.
I wish to share time with Deputy Sargent, who lost out on an earlier deal.
Is that agreed? Agreed.
On 26 July last the Minister introduced a package of proposals she proposed to implement. We welcomed the package because we believe the issues of law and order and drug-related crime are above party politics and must be tackled. We also welcomed the Minister's recognition of drug traffickers as subversives, something for which we have been calling for a long time. We welcomed the Government's proposed action on crime. However, I stated that it would probably be Christmas before the legislation came before the House, but I was wrong because it has not yet come before the House. Consequently, Deputy O'Donoghue, who has been to the forefront in making proposals in this area, introduced a Bill.
Nobody raised the question of Democratic Left being soft on crime, except Deputy Byrne. One wonders about the reason for the delay in addressing this problem. Was there conflict within the Cabinet? Is the Government looking three ways on this matter? Was there a veto on proceeding with the proposed prisons and on the crackdown on crime? Are we now witnessing a U-turn forced by Fianna Fáil and recent events? It looks very much like that. I congratulate Deputy O'Donoghue on his work on this Bill and the whole issue of bail. I assure the House that Fianna Fáil will be firm on crime and tackle its causes. We will put forward proposals while the Government is in office and implement them when we return to office.
The crime wave, particularly the murders in the last month, have caused major disquiet in the community, striking fear into the elderly and those living alone, not only in Dublin city but throughout the country. Violent crime, once confined to the major urban areas, has now spread throughout the country.
People wonder what is causing fear. It is people's deep concern about the major upsurge in vicious crime over the past year or two. The quality of life, of which as a nation we were justifiably proud, has been undermined if not destroyed. The traditional security of life has been shattered, mistrust has been engendered and fear and suspicion have become the norm. The lack of respect for life and bodily integrity is frightening, and if commentators say that this is exaggerating, I and many Deputies in this House could show them what is happening on the ground. The nation cannot be expected to tolerate such a diminution in its lifestyle. It is incumbent on politicians of all parties to examine the causes, find the solutions and create the conditions which will enable their implementation so that confidence and security can be restored.
The most often cited cause for much of the present crime, particularly in Dublin, is the explosion in the use of drugs. The hash smoking of the 1960s and 1970s was confined to the few and was not comparable to the present threat to society. The advent of hard drugs has changed all that. Drug abuse is now a major threat to society. The increase in the number of dependent drug users has grown expotentially and with that increase has come a corresponding increase in drug related crime. Today's drug user typically has a habit which costs anything from £40 to £700 a day to satisfy. This can only be financed by crime, handbag snatching, mugging, robbery and house breaking. These are the common sources of finance for the strung-out drug addict.
Some people engage in drug dealing to finance their own habit. No matter what method the drug user employs to finance that habit, it needs urgent attention to curb the use of drugs and the associated crime wave. There are a number of areas which could contribute to both these ends. Excluding the importation of drugs, the current legislation concentrates on two major offences — possession of drugs for one's own use and possession for the purposes of supplying them to another person. There is a need to make the use of drugs an illegal act. In addition to the measures outlined in the Misuse of Drugs Bill, 1996, a new offence should be created so that a person using or under the influence of a drug which is not a drug taken under prescription for a recognised medical condition, excluding a condition related to drug abuse, should be guilty of an offence. This is analogous to drunk driving offences minus the driving element. There the offence is one of having a concentration of alcohol in one's blood or urine and driving in that condition. The new offence would make it an offence to have a concentration of a drug in one's blood or urine. The drugs in question are already listed in the Misuse of Drugs Act and in the regulations. As in the case of the drunk driver the Garda should be given a power of arrest on suspicion of commiting an offence and should have a power of requesting a sample of blood or urine with the corresponding offence of refusing to give a sample should this occur. This offence should be one which can be tried summarily in the District Court and carry a range of penalties from imprisonment to compulsory attendance for treatment. In my constituency, for a trial period, people who first come in contact with the law are given the option of rehabilitation locally and are taking it, and many of them are glad to do so. We need to examine substance abuse much more than we have.
There would be no point in sentencing a drug abuser to undergo compulsory treatment unless there is a regime in place to treat people who are sentenced. A State-funded rehabilitation programme is necessary and badly needed. A programme of this nature will require the provision of secure residences, not prisons, staffed by professionals from several different walks of life and from the professions. There will be a need for security staff to ensure that the accomodation is secure and that the inmates are not free to walk out whenever they desire. Second, full medical care will have to be provided to detoxify the drug user by the best medical means. Third, an education programme will have to be provided to educate and rehabilitate the offender. The precedent for a treatment centre of this kind already exists in Coolmine. This proposal differs in that it would involve compulsory rather than voluntary treatment and would necessitate the incarceration of the drug user for the duration of the programme.
Turning from the proposed new offence to the existing situation, last week, Mr. Michael Dillon of the Customs and Excise groups in the Public Service Executive Union outlined the difference of approach between the Garda and Customs and Excise in combating drug importing. It was reported: "The problem is that while the Garda would like to catch the major drug dealers red-handed, Customs seek to keep the drugs out and seize the carriers on arrival at ports and airports". Of course, they are both right but a way must be found to deal with this conflict. He also called for greater manpower and equipment to reduce the supply of drugs still further. He cited the success of the Customs and Excise in combating the importation of drugs and seizures made to date, and they are to be congratulated and commended for their invaluable work so far. We wish them continued success in the future. They have shown from 1993 to 1995 increases in heroin seizures from 124,000 tonnes to 3.4 million tonnes, in ecstasy from 34,000 tonnes to 353,000 tonnes and in cannabis from 16 million tonnes to 30 million tonnes. We cannot afford differences between the approaches of the Customs and Excise and Garda Síochána. If there are differences the Ministers responsible must tackle the problem and put the structures in place to enable both to work together with the aim of maximising the detection and prosecution rate of the importers and carriers of drugs.
Both services need greater resources to be placed at their disposal. The problem is now so great that whatever is required must be made available. We have at our disposal one of the most powerful methods of combating the drug barons. Their primary motivation is to get rich at the expense of others, and many have succeeded. Those riches have never been subject to taxation. Their sources have not been examined to any great extent, and they are flaunted in the face of the hard-pressed taxpayer. Why should they not be called to account for their riches? Why, if they are found to have originated from illegal sources, should they not be seized by the State and deprived of their ill-gotten gains? The Revenue Commissioners should be empowered, in conjunction with the Garda and Customs and Excise, to call on the drug barons to account for their riches. This may require hiring specialist staff, if they are not already in position, to audit resources, to check title to their mansions, to collect and collate evidence and, where possible, prosecute offenders. If further legislation is necessary it must be introduced without delay.
The Revenue Commissioners, working with the others, must quickly show that drugs related crime does not pay. In addition to the compulsory rehabilitation programme, it is also important that community based rehabilitation programmes are available. This will require co-operation between the Departments of Health, Education, Justice, Social Welfare and the Environment. The drugs problem is not confined to disadvantaged areas but the bulk of it occurs in them. The various Departments will have to examine these areas, identify the problems, devise solutions and put the necessary supports in place. The perceived need of some people to escape reality through the use of drugs must be eradicated.
There is an invidious and subversive threat to our society and we will have to attack it with vigour and determination. Drug barons will have to learn there is no safe place for them in this jurisdiction to hide and carry out their destructive trade. They will not be permitted to destroy our way of life and our young people. With single-minded determination and adequate resources, they can be confronted and defeated. I will do whatever I can to see that their activities are not only curbed but terminated. I congratulate Deputy O'Donoghue on this Bill.
Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil le Deputy woods as an am sin a roinnt.
I broadly support this Bill and any constitutional measures which effectively control the parasites on society who peddle illegal drugs which are causing so much misery and waste in my constituency of Dublin North and throughout the country. It is ironic that we are beginning to see a wider public acceptance of smoke free bingo halls, restaurants and even pubs, but peer pressure on young people makes many of them vulnerable to the preying connivance of the ruthless entrepreneurs who shamelessly profit from trade in illicit drugs.
I agree with the Minister, Deputy Owen, when she says that measures in this or other Bills must be constitutional. I hope we do not face a constitutional challenge to this Bill on the grounds of human rights infringements or on any other grounds. In our haste to protect the health of young people, we must not overlook omissions in this Bill or in any further legislation the Government may bring forward. I imagine that many of the provisions of Part II will be difficult to implement without a change in the bail laws. I hope the Bill will provoke a quick response. There is certainly a need for wide consultation.
As Deputy Woods stated, apart from alcohol the consumption of drugs while driving has not been addressed in law. The US carries out sobriety tests which cover illegal and prescription drugs. It is time our laws were widened to encompass them. There is also a need to face up to the fact that many people under 18 years of age are involved in the drugs trade through association with drug barons. We do not seem to deal effectively with young offenders because most of our legislative provisions presume people only become involved in drugs when they are older. Unfortunately, this is not true in some cases. Many young offenders are sent to Oberstown and Trinity House. This is a constant source of worry for local people because these institutions are regarded as schools by the Department of Education and on that basis are not afforded protection and security. measures.
The use of Private Members' Business to deal with crime related Bills is a measure of the level of the public, political and media focus on crime. Deputy O'Donoghue and I are sure to be here at 8 p.m. on Wednesdays taking about crime.
On the media handling of the current crime debate, from its point of view there is an insatiable appetite for crime related analysis, scoops and scandals. The public service role of the media in dealing with crime is worthy of critical analysis. There is a creeping tabloidism among the media, particularly the print media. Others, apart from Deputies, who have time to scrutinise the standards of that coverage should do so.
There have been allegations by the Minister and some commentators of a great deal of hype about crime. However, crime is a reality. The media, in covering crime in all its gruesome details, reflects public fear. The standards of that reporting is a matter for the press to debate. It is not adequate for the Minister to say debating crime and holding her to account for her Department's handling of crime is hype. Crime is a reality and people fear the violence and current criminal activity.
We can take our democracy for granted. There is a creeping tendency in the media to rubbish the efforts of all politicians. Critical comment of the policies of political parties is fine but it is extremely dangerous and unhelpful in a democracy if all politicians as a class are rubbished. It encourages people not to vote and to lose confidence in our democratic institutions.
We were confronted with a threat to the security of the State and to our democratic institutions by armed paramilitarism over a period of 25 years. This threat has been replaced by the threat of organised crime particularly drug trafficking. We need to endorse and support the organs of the State, in particular this House, and the role of elected politicians in our democracy. There is a ceasefire by paramilitaries and the peace process is progressing. The Bill attempts to deal with drug related organised crime and proposes practical measures.
Over the past three years the Opposition, in its various forms, has put forward radical measures to reform the law in a range of areas relating to organised crime. At every opportunity the Progressive Democrats called for enhanced powers for the authorities to deal efficiently and expeditiously with such crime.
Highly organised armed criminal gangs control the drugs trade. Despite recent successes by way of drugs seizures by the Garda and the customs service, it is clear that a range of procedural and legislative reforms are required to ensure prosecutions and convictions. Our decent law abiding citizens are tired of routine condemnations from all parties followed by an apparent absence of detailed proposals to tackle the problem. This and the previous Government voted down every constructive proposal by the Progressive Democrats, advanced by way of Private Members' Bills and motions, to reform and strengthen the law on bail and the arrest and detention of suspects. Radical measures are required to respond to drug distribution and importation. These should be targeted at the godfathers and not at the unfortunate victims.
Apart from the tragedy of drug abuse for young people, including deaths from ecstasy and heroin, the enormous impact of drug addiction on criminality make it imperative that radical measures be introduced. We proposed that the absolute right to silence be abolished and safeguards introduced such as the video taping of interviews. The time has come to examine whether our legal system ought to be more inquisitorial. There is public disquiet that the guilty are using the adversarial nature of the criminal justice system to escape justice, in other words, abusing the fundamental rights provided in our Constitution to protect the accused. Under the inquisitorial system the judge's role is to carry out any investigation required to arrive at the truth. Neither prosecution nor defence bears the burden of proof as in our system. The tribunal must make a prima facie determination of facts prior to trial.
To introduce a fully inquisitorial system, including longer periods of investigation for alleged offences, even limited to organised crime and drugs, would require a constitutional amendment. However, some of the most important features of the system could be introduced here with a minimum of disruption. It is not beyond the capacity of the Dáil to legislate for necessary safeguards to civil liberties such as videotaping interviews and giving a supervisory jurisdiction to the District Court.
The right to silence has existed in common law for centuries. It developed when the legal controls over the detection of suspects were few. Many accused were illiterate and had little or no understanding of the criminal process. Often the accused was not given any opportunity to speak in his defence and the right of access to a lawyer was unrecognised. Death was often the penalty for a relatively minor offence. In these circumstances the right to silence was often the only effective defence an accused person had against the institutions of State.
The current right of a suspect to sing dumb and refuse to answer any questions or account for his or her movements during a police investigation is a fundamental obstacle faced by the Garda in its task of investigating crime. Statutory provisions, such as section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act or sections 18 and 19 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984, require suspects to answer police questions. In general, however, accused persons now have at their disposal a huge range of rights recognised as essential to due process.
The time has come to balance those rights with the rights of the victims of crime, and of law abiding citizens, and to expect public order in the common good. The first duty of the State is to protect the safety of the citizen. Citizens ought to be under a duty to give whatever assistance they can to the police force which serves them and their community and the Garda should be given power to ensure that persons suspected of involvement in serious criminal activity are obliged to account for their movements. I am not calling for the total abolition of the right to silence but an amendment to the absolute right of silence which means that no inference can be drawn by the accused's silence.
There are compelling arguments for giving police the power to arrest a person believed to be in a position to supply information about serious offences such as armed drug related activity but who refuses to co-operate. It must be possible to extend the permissible period of detention and I understand the Minister has plans to do that.
The Director of Public Prosecutions has called for a unified prosecution service. He made that call last September or November publicity in an article he wrote in a Garda management magazine. When I questioned the Minister on 14 December about her response to this cry for help from the Director of Public Prosecutions, who said there were absurd delays and duplications in the prosecution service and that we should have a unified prosecution service, the Minister told me that the Director of Public Prosecutions was an independent office holder, that she had not discussed these matters with him and to do so would be improper. That is a failure to understand the difference between independence and proper co-operation and accountability. The cry for help from the Director of Public Prosecutions should be acknowledged by the Minister and the issues he raised debated in this House.
I welcome the report of the Law Reform Commission on bail. A broad analysis of preventative detention was carried out by the commission at the request of the Government. Unfortunately, its report did not make any recommendations — it was not requested to do so. Political direction is needed now. Decisions must be made by this Government and they will be supported by the Opposition. It is time for a reasonable amendment to be made to the law on bail and it is not beyond the intelligent capacity of this House to stitch safeguards into our Constitution dealing with the legitimate concerns about civil liberties expressed by some members of the Government parties. Indeed, we share those concerns but it is not beyond the capacity of the House to change the bail laws by way of a reasonable amendment to them. This may require a constitutional referendum. The measures we put forward, such as those concerning sureties which could be forfeited if the person recommitted an offence while on bail, were reasonable and would not require a constitutional referendum but they were voted down by the Government. I hope the Government bites the bullet on the important issue of bail. We can do that without infringing on civil liberties. It is a balance to be drawn in the light of our current needs given high rates of reoffending a current feature of our criminality.
I congratulate Deputy O'Donoghue for yet another valiant effort to challenge the system. I am glad the Government has taken a reasonable approach to this Bill because the difficulties with organised crime and drug trafficking go beyond politics and there is a broad consensus in the House that radical measures should be adopted.
I listened with great interest and an open mind to the points made by Deputies from various parties in the debate. While there has been a degree of media hype and, in some instances, hysteria about this problem, it is based on the genuine fears of people in regard to the current crime wave. The way in which some commentators have reacted is inappropriate in that they have sought to manipulate the problem in a certain way, but most journalists reflect the honest fear felt by people as a result of an exceptional series of events which came together.
It may be some time before we get the full stories behind the different murders and we may find that none of them had anything to do with organised crime but were of a traditional variety. However, these murders highlight certain changes in Irish society and in any analysis of or response to the crime wave, we must examine the changes in relation to crime and the prison system. If we can understand some of those changes, we may be able to find the appropriate remedies to cope with them.
In regard to our prison system and the current crime wave, there are a number of separate but distinctive features which must be taken into account and which perhaps need different responses. There is the whole question of rural crime and the insecurity felt by elderly people living in remote areas whose lives are restricted because of that fear. Measures such as Community Alert, auxiliary police forces and other responses which allow communities in those areas have some degree of control of collective security, in conjunction with the Garda Síochána, are the appropriate mechanisms.
Another feature of the current crime wave — the drugs problem — is essentially urban based although it is now percolating into the towns outside our large cities. This is a worldwide, European-wide problem and in that sense we are part of a wider cultural change in Europe. The third element in our criminal statistics, particularly in relation to our prisons, which must be considered is the number of sex offenders currently in the prison system or who will be going through it in future. Society has learned slowly and painfully about sexual crimes and sexual abuse. As a consequence in recent years there has been a substantial increase in the number of people being convicted and brought before the courts on these offences. Sexual offenders are different from the traditional categories of prisoners. There are just a few in prison for subversive offences. What might be termed common or ordinary criminals have, in the main, a drugs background. Statistics shows that sex offenders as a proportion of the prison population will rise in future as it is not possible to grant them early release because of the nature of their crimes and the threat they pose to society. There has been insufficient analysis of that social change.
We need to view the drugs problem not just in the Irish context but in the European Union and world-wide context. The European Commissioner for Social Affairs, a former Fianna Fáil Minister for Justice, said last year that the war against drugs and crime will be long and difficult and that we do ourselves no favours by adopting panic responses. Some of his erstwhile colleagues would do well to head his comments. If we want to fight a successful war against drugs — all parties are agreed on that — we need to target those whose removal from the field will have the greatest impact. By tackling the traffickers, we can reduce the supply of drugs on the market which would have two main benefits: first, it would reduce the opportunity for young people to be initiated into the culture of drug abuse; second, it would enable us to target resources in a way that helps addicts to cure their addiction. We need to devise strategies on the demandreduction side. I understand my colleague, the Minister for Health, will be bringing proposals to Government in this regard shortly.
Deputy O'Donoghue has brought forward a number of Private Members' Bills in the past 18 months with the aim of trying to anticipate the Government's approach to the issues in question and this Bill is in that mould. However, there are many significant problems with the Deputy's approach to the drug trafficking problem, which no responsible Government could ignore. The Minister for Justice dealt in detail with the shortcomings in the Bill during her contribution last night. I will confine my remarks to the three matters which concern me, in particular, provisions dealing with the powers of detention and rearrest and extra powers for Customs and Excise officers. Under section 1, the Garda Síochána could be given increased powers of detention in relation to offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act, 1977, such as possession of controlled drugs, cultivation of opium poppy or cannabis plants, permitting the use of premises for drug offences and committing similar offences abroad. However, there is no mention of the Criminal Justice Act, 1994, which provides a definition of a drug trafficking offence which would include aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring the commission of drugs offences as well as attempting or conspiring to commit such offences. Because of the ingenious methods adopted by drug traffickers to ply their trade it is essential that all persons who have an involvement in this activity should be amenable to any law designed to eliminate it. The section purports to allow seven day detention, however, I can see no obvious references to any safeguards which would be expected to be included where such a power is being provided. As I understand the position, very specific safeguards would have to be put in place to ensure that any additional powers of detention are likely to pass the constitutional test against the deprivation of liberty. I am not making this point out of misplaced concern for the rights of people involved in drug trafficking. My concern is that what the Deputy proposes would be likely to be found unconstitutional and would fall foul of the European Convention on Human Rights. We need effective legislation that will not give rise to these difficulties and that is why I welcome the fact that the Government's drug trafficking Bill will be published shortly.
It appears that a provision which allows for applications to be made through the courts to permit further periods of detention to be made ex-parte must offend against some of our fundamental legal precepts. It goes without saying that it must infringe also on the basic concepts of human rights. A further flaw is that it would appear that a person could be arrested again and again on foot of the same suspicion and detained. Given the exceptional nature of the powers being created in the Bill, it would seem there is a necessity to spell out the circumstances in which persons can be rearrested and detained under this Bill. The Deputy probably understands the point I am making. I am not objecting to additional powers but if we put them forward they must be constitutionally effective, otherwise inevitably they will be struck down by the courts and when that happens, here or in Europe, the consequences for the status of the legislation will be quite drastic. If the legislation is seen to collapse, it would be a very severe setback to the prosecution of such offences.
The package of measures announced by the Government last July to address the drugs scourge included a reference to greater co-operation between the Garda and customs. This would include allowing Customs officers to be present during the questioning of suspects. Section 4 of this Bill seeks to provide powers for Customs officers to question a person, having first informed that person of his suspicion that he or she has or is committing an offence under the Bill and issuing a caution. In effect this section is creating a parallel system of collecting evidence which might be used in prosecuting the offence. This fragmentation of powers would not be the most effective way of meeting the challenge posed by drug trafficking. At a time when other jurisdictions are looking for ways of creating a unified law enforcement front to tackle the drugs problem, the Deputy's Bill would send us in the other direction.
The causes of crime are complex and it behoves us, therefore, as legislators to examine these causes before we attempt solutions. The Government has promised to bring forward its own comprehensive proposals in this regard within a matter of weeks. In view of the evident shortcomings of Deputy O'Donoghue's Bill — I mentioned only some of them — there are clear advantages in waiting for the Government's Bill. At that stage the concern of Deputies and other Members can be raised. I know the Government will not be deaf to reasonable and workable solutions.
I listened very carefully to the Opposition Deputies and there was merit in the points they raised. I do not see any fundamental conflict between the concept of civil liberties and taking draconian measures against persons such as drug offenders, but it is necessary that whatever legislation is introduced — however draconian — must stand up to certain constitutional tests. If the proposals are assessed reasonably as being constitutionally invalid, clearly we have to face a debate on whether to change the Constitution.
In addressing the debate on bail laws one must strike a balance between the liberties the vast majority of people deserve to enjoy and the power needed to address the serious crime problem. In some jurisdictions there was an excessive reaction and the balance swung away from civil liberties and in others the cautious development of legislation collapsed as verdicts were overthrown and the Judiciary was brought into disrepute through miscarriages of Justice. In putting forward proposals, in many cases sensible ones, I urge Deputies to structure them in such a way that they will stand up and not simply be reactions they do not intend to pursue seriously in the long-term.
I wish to share time with Deputy Costello.
I thank the Minister of State for allowing me share time with her. I am delighted to have the opportunity to contribute in light of the recent debate and the proposals introduced by the Minister for Justice yesterday. She announced that she would publish the drug trafficking Bill, which supersedes the need for this Bill. There is very little in the Bill which is not contained in the Minister's proposals. Her decision not to recommend rejection of the Bill is generous considering Deputy O'Donoghue's onslaught on her over the last few months.
Fianna Fáil's resumed interest in the rise in crime reflects not so much its concern as its inability to mount a decent sustained attack on the budget. The proposal for seven days detention formed an integral part of the announcement made by the Minister in July and I have no doubt will be contained in the Bill to be introduced. The proposals presented in this Bill appears to be unconstitutional and may infringe the European Convention on Human Rights. Presumably the power of super-intendents to authorise the issue of search warrants for persons suspected of drug trafficking would be exercised by them in their own jurisdiction. At present this power is exercised by district justices and to my knowledge no request for a search warrant was ever refused. While it makes no difference in practice that this power will be given to superintendents it does in theory, in that the Garda will now conduct the investigation and authorise the issuing of a search warrant. As a result, search warrants should be issued more speedily.
The proposed agreement between the Garda and Customs and Excise officers is already in place in many ways. Under the Bill the Deputy proposes giving the power to question on suspicion, which currently rests with the Garda, to Customs and Excise officers. It is a controversial proposal which must be carefully examined. The appointment of new judges announced by the Minister should reduce the delay in bringing people to trial. Virtually everything contained in the Bill forms part of the announcement made by the Minister.
I represent a Dublin constituency and know only too well the necessity for these and other measures to tackle the drug problem. Drug-related crime in the Dublin area accounts for 75 per cent of all crime. Heroin addiction is the primary problem in Dublin. That is not to underestimate the effect of other drugs. While it is difficult to estimate the number of addicts in Dublin, the guesstimate is 5,000. These addicts require £500 per day to feed their habit and as a result petty crime such as larceny, bag snatching and burglary has increased. Many heroin addicts in the north inner city have died. There is no doubt that such addicts are from socially deprived areas. We must adopt a multifaceted approach to the problem of drug addiction.
Listening to Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats one would imagine building Castlerea prison and abolishing the right to bail would solve the problem. Many complex issues give rise to the problem and these must be addressed if we are to deal with the problem in a comprehensive and meaningful fashion. I welcome the expansion of the services at local level and in the Eastern Health Board, particularly the proposal to introduce satellite clinics around the country. The problem will best be tackled by dealing with it at local level. Politicians must lend their support as we are immune to intimidation or attack by pushers whereas local people are vulnerable to such pressures.
I welcome the increased involvement of voluntary groups. Not only do they provide treatment programmes but add considerably to the variety of programmes on offer. There is still some debate on how to tackle heroin addiction effectively and it is essential to provide as wide a range of treatment as possible to people who have different needs. I welcome the statement that a drug free unit is to be established in Mountjoy Prison. In the past I was critical of the available services for prisoners willing to tackle their addiction in prison. Provision should be made to transfer responsibility for the treatment of prisoners with medical problems to the Eastern Health Board in the same way as educational services within prisons are the responsibility of the local vocational education committees. Such a measure would ensure an integrated approach to the treatment of drug addicts inside the prison as well as in the community. I urge the Minister to take action in this area.
The Minister of State, Deputy Burton, referred to education which must play an important role in combating the present drug epidemic. The Minister for Education is compiling a programme of education to combat drug abuse, particularly heroin. While this will be introduced in all schools, primary schools in disadvantaged areas must be targeted. Parents of children in those areas must be provided with information because they too form the front line in the fight against drug abuse.
Debate adjourned.