Joint Committee on Drugs Use publishes Final Report – TDs and Senators recommend decriminalisation of possession of drugs for personal use

Committee Cathaoirleach Deputy Gary Gannon said: “The Committee has concluded that the personal possession of drugs for one’s own use should cease to be treated as a criminal matter and should instead be met with a health-led approach. This is not a marginal adjustment. It is a recognition that criminalising people for their own drug use has not reduced harm, and that a different approach is both possible and overdue.”

In its report, the Committee makes 161 recommendations across family and community supports; kinship care; intergenerational trauma; addiction, sports and wellbeing; young people; substance use and neurodiversity; women, drug use and addiction; the National Drugs Strategy; nitrous oxide and other inhalants; and legal and policy issues.

Deputy Gannon said: “This report has its origin in the Report of the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use, which set out 36 recommendations in January 2024. The Assembly’s work was the most comprehensive examination of drug use ever undertaken in the history of the State. Over many months, a representative cross-section of the public heard the evidence, considered the arguments, and concluded that drug use in Ireland should be approached primarily as a public health issue. That finding has guided this Committee’s work from the outset, and it is the frame within which this report should be read.

“The Committee was established to consider the Assembly’s Report and to provide a reasoned response to each of its recommendations. We have done so. Having examined the evidence ourselves, we endorse the direction the Assembly set. A health-led response is not a softening of the State’s resolve on drugs; it is a more honest and more effective use of it. Central to that response, the Committee has concluded that the personal possession of drugs for one’s own use should cease to be treated as a criminal matter and should instead be met with a health-led approach. This is not a marginal adjustment. It is a recognition that criminalising people for their own drug use has not reduced harm, and that a different approach is both possible and overdue.

“The Committee’s conclusions were shaped by an extensive programme of engagement. We heard from policymakers, legal and medical experts, service providers, academics, community organisations, and, most importantly, from individuals with lived experience of drug use and recovery, and from families affected by addiction. Their testimony grounded our deliberations in reality, and I want to acknowledge their generosity and openness in coming before us. While it has not been possible to capture every issue raised in our report, I would encourage readers to consult the meeting transcripts and recordings for the fuller picture of the evidence considered.”

The Leas-Chathaoirleach of the Committee, Senator Mary Fitzpatrick, said: “Over the past 20 years, the nature of drug use in Ireland has changed completely. Where once it was often associated with heroin use in disadvantaged and marginalised communities, today we are dealing with widespread poly substance use. Cocaine, cannabis, prescription drugs and new substances are now present in every county – in villages, towns and cities alike.

“Addiction is no longer something that can be seen as affecting ‘other communities’. It is present across Irish society. We heard clearly about the impact of this. The human cost is felt by individuals and families dealing with addiction and loss. The social cost is seen in communities living with trauma, stigma and drug-related harm. The economic cost is also significant, with resources tied up in systems that are not delivering the outcomes we need.

“This evidence shows that a largely criminal justice-focused approach has not worked well enough. It has not reduced harm, it has not supported people early enough, and in some cases, it has added to stigma and exclusion.

That is why this report is clear in its direction: Ireland must move to a health-led approach. This is about recognising drug use and addiction as a public health issue. It is about protecting young people, reducing risk and preventing harm, while making sure people can access the help they need when they need it.

“Our report calls for a comprehensive health-led response that prioritises prevention, harm reduction and recovery. Prevention to stop problems starting, harm reduction to save lives and reduce risk, and recovery to support people to rebuild their lives. It also recognises that addiction is often linked to wider issues – poverty, trauma, mental health and housing – and that these must be addressed together.”

Deputy Gannon added: “I want to say a word about how this Committee worked, because it matters. Members came to this question from different parties and different starting points, and there was strong and genuine debate among us. But we listened to the evidence and we let it lead.

“The conclusions in this report are agreed conclusions, reached not by avoiding disagreement but by working through it. On an issue that is too often reduced to a political dividing line, I am proud that this Committee found common ground in the facts. I thank every member for the seriousness and good faith they brought to the work.

“The Joint Committee on Drugs Use recommends that this report be considered by the Department of Health, the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, and the Department of the Taoiseach, and that the matters arising from it be debated in both Houses of the Oireachtas.”

The Joint Committee on Drugs Use has 14 Members, nine from the Dáil and five from the Seanad. The Committee’s Final Report is available on the Oireachtas website.