Vol. 529 No. 1
1071 Mr. Gregory asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the criteria for offences being tried by the pilot drugs court; and if he will respond to the concerns of the local community that persons involved in a history of house break-ins should be dealt with by the mainstream courts in view of the fear of violence that such acts arouse. [2268/01]
The 1997 Programme for Government included, in the context of measures to combat the drugs problem, the creation of a drug courts system which would involve court supervised treatment programmes for less serious drug related offences.
Following the reports of the Working Group on a Courts Commission and an expert Drug Court Planning Committee which I established, the Pilot Drug Court Programme was launched in the Dublin District Court on 9 January 2001. The Drug Court Planning Committee included representatives of a wide range of interests, including the community sector. Strict criteria must be satisfied before an offender may be admitted to the drug court programme. Specifically, the offender must be over 17 years of age; reside within the catchment area, Dublin's north inner city, for a minimum of one year; have pleaded guilty or been found guilty in court of a non-violent criminal offence; be liable to be sentenced if convicted; be dependent on the use of prohibited drugs and-or prescribed drugs; have a clear understanding of the implications of participation with the drug court; and be willing to co-operate with supervision, stop offending, avail of appropriate drug treatment and participate generally on the programme put in place.
It is important to point out that it is a matter for the judiciary as to whether an offender should be admitted into the drug court programme. Acceptance into the programme does not mean the participant can no longer be dealt with by the ordinary criminal courts. A participant may have his or her participation in the drug court programme terminated for non-compliance with the rules of the programme and in that event, he or she is referred back to the original court for the finalisation of his or her case.
The pilot programme marks a major policy initiative in the criminal justice system and is designed as an alternative measure for dealing with less serious and non-violent drug offenders and I look forward to assessing the results of the pilot project in due course.
