Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 November 2004
372 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform when he expects the drug offenders Bill to be published and brought before the Houses of the Oireachtas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29736/04]
View answerThe purpose of the drug offenders Bill as set out in the Government legislative programme, is to provide for the registration of convicted drug dealers with the gardaí and to provide for stiffer penalties for persons involved in the supply of drugs to a prisoner in accordance with the commitments in An Agreed Programme for Government. Work on preparation of the Bill is at a preliminary stage of examination and I am not yet in a position to indicate a timeframe for its publication. However, I am examining proposals on the creation of an offence of supplying controlled drugs to a prison or place of detention with a view to bringing forward appropriate amendments for inclusion in the Criminal Justice Bill 2004 which is currently before the House.
373 Mr. Connolly asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his views on the increase in drugs and alcohol abuse in the north-east region; the strategies that are in place to deal with it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29752/04]
View answerThe Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs is the lead Department in tackling the problem of drug abuse as it co-ordinates the implementation of the National Drug Strategy across the four pillars of supply reduction, treatment, education-prevention and research. My Department and its associated agencies are mainly concerned with supply reduction. In that context, I am informed by the Garda authorities that there has been no noticeable increase in the incidence of abuse of controlled drugs in the north-eastern region. That does not imply any complacency in the matter. Drug law enforcement is a high priority in the region and a number of successful operations targeting known suppliers of illicit drugs have been conducted this year.
To ensure that a more co-ordinated response is in place to tackle the problem of drug misuse across the country, the National Drugs Strategy 2001-2008 provides for the establishment of ten regional drug task forces, or RDTFs. I understand from my colleague, the Minister of State at the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, that all of these task forces, including the north-eastern RDTF, are currently mapping out the nature and extent of drug misuse in their areas with a view to better co-ordination and addressing gaps in overall service provision.
In this context, €500,000 has been provided by the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs in the current year for administrative and technical assistance costs incurred by the ten RDTFs in the preparation of their regional action plans. These plans will be completed by early 2005 and recommendations on the funding of the plans will then be brought to the Cabinet committee on social inclusion for approval.
The Department of Health and Children has primary responsibility for tackling the problem of alcohol abuse. The Minister for Health and Children established a strategic task force on alcohol in January 2002. The terms of reference requested the task force to review international research in order to identify evidence-based measures effective in preventing alcohol related harm. It was also requested to recommend specific, evidence-based measures to Government to prevent and reduce alcohol related harm in Ireland. The task force has published two reports which contain approximately 100 recommendations. These recommendations provide a blueprint for tackling alcohol problems in Ireland. The second report is due to go to Government in the near future. As is the case with drug abuse, the gardaí in the north-eastern region are proactive when it comes to law enforcement in the area of alcohol abuse.
374 Mr. Connolly asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he has formulated proposals to address this increasing problem of driving under the influence of drugs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29753/04]
View answerRoad traffic legislation is the responsibility of the Minister for Transport. The influence of drugs on driving behaviour is an issue of increasing concern. However, identification of the presence of drugs is more complex than for alcohol. It is illegal in Ireland to drive while under the influence of drugs to such an extent as to be incapable of having proper control of the vehicle. Section 49 of the Road Traffic Act 1961, as inserted by section 10 of the Road Traffic Act 1994, prohibits the driving of a mechanically propelled vehicle by a person while under the influence of an intoxicant. An intoxicant includes alcohol and drugs and any combination of drugs and alcohol. Enforcement of the law on drug driving is a matter for the gardaí. When a Garda suspects that a motorist is driving under the influence of any intoxicant, he or she may arrest the suspect under section 49 of the Road Traffic Act 1961.
The Medical Bureau of Road Safety continues to analyse specimens for the presence of drugs. Since 1 January 2002 all samples found under the legal limit for alcohol are automatically tested for the presence of a drug or drugs as well as cases where the gardaí request that a test for drugs take place. In order to advance research on drugs and driving in Ireland, additional funding was made available to the Medical Bureau of Road Safety for a two-year programme of drug analysis of blood and urine specimens, the results of which were published in June 2004. A total of 2,000 specimens were selected for drug analysis, 1,000 with results under the limit for alcohol and 1,000 over the limit. Of those samples with essentially zero levels of alcohol, 68% were positive for one or more drugs. The recently published Road Safety Strategy 2004-2006 proposes that the MBRS together with the department of forensic medicine at University College Dublin will put in place an education programme in drug recognition techniques for gardaí and doctors in order to further facilitate the operation of drug testing.
