asked the Minister for Justice the measures he is taking to deal with the serious problem of drug supply and addiction in the community.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Drug Addiction.
35.
(Limerick East): As the Deputy will appreciate, the enforcement of the law, including the law relating to the misuse of drugs, is primarily a matter for the Garda Síochána. From the information available to me I am satisfied that the Garda Síochána fully appreciate the serious nature of the drug problem and are fully committed to dealing with it.
The Garda authorities consider that the strength of the Drug Squad, which has been augmented substantially in the recent past, is adequate having regard to the fact that (a) all members of the force have responsibility in the prevention of drug abuse as part of their general duties and (b) a total of 2,325 members, representative of all Garda divisions, have undergone an advanced training programme on drugs investigation.
I am satisfied that the policy of complementing the efforts of the Drug Squad by the involvement of all members of the force is proving effective as a substantial number of detections are being made by non-Drug Squad members. I am informed, for example, that 68 per cent of drug seizures in 1983 were made by uniform and detective personnel, other than Drugs Squad and in 1984, seizures by this group constituted 70.4 per cent.
While legislation in relation to the misuse of drugs is primarily the responsibility of the Minister for Health, the Deputy will be aware that the law in relation to drug abuse was updated and the penalties for the more serious drug offences were substantially increased — including the provision of life sentences for drug trafficking — in the Misuse of Drugs Act, 1984.
Will the Minister agree that in recent times his approach has been somewhat complacent in relation to drugs? He has suggested that the drug problem in Dublin has levelled out and that Dublin is no longer the Euro drug capital. Would the Minister agree that this kind of thinking is very dangerous and that its influence on the officials involved in all the areas associated with drugs could be deleterious and lead to a scaling down in tackling the problem?
(Limerick East): No, I would not.
When I get answers like that the Chair will realise why I have to ask more questions. I have no alternative but to pursue the Minister. I am asking him to get up from his seat and to get active in tackling drugs. I believe he is complacent. I am asking him to root out every drug pusher, not just the major ones who were taken from the scene in the past few years. I ask him to pursue actively every drug pusher and to make sure that the other agencies are co-operating. I was very disappointed when he did not seem to be co-ordinating information regarding drugs coming into ports. If he is concerned about the supply of drugs he should have that information at his fingertips. This arose in an earlier question. Will he give us an undertaking that he will leave no hiding place here for drug pushers, that he will continue with the effort put in by his predecessor and himself in the past few years to ensure that drug pushers are removed from the scene?
(Limerick East): The Deputy spoke about complacency. When he was Minister for Health he had responsibility for legislation on drugs and the drug problem. He was very complacent and he allowed the problem to reach epidemic proportions in 1980 with the result that when we came to power we had to take radical action. Now when we are getting on top of the problem he comes to this House and makes another of his scary speeches.
Action was taken in 1982. The first substantial survey was done by me in advance. It is typical of the Minister's response that he does not answer any of the questions. He just attacks the person on the other side.
Standing Order No. 33 directs the Chair to see that the original question as put down does not contain argument. The Chair interprets that as carrying forward into supplementary questions. The Deputy got a very short answer from the Minister but he put a very argumentative supplementary which invited that kind of reply. If Deputies would study Standing Orders Nos. 31 to 37 we would have a better and more effective Question Time.
As Opposition spokesman I must question the Minister on his attitude to these matters. I reserve the right to do that.
In accordance with Standing Orders.
Yes. The Minister's attitude is one of complacency. I realise that he and his predecessor tackled this problem vigorously but I also identify a complacency in recent times which has spread throughout the agencies associated with the Minister and which he should be co-ordinating. I reserve the right to pursue the Minister on that question. It is a very fundamental and important one. I quote from a recent edition of the Irish Independent——
Questions are not in order at Question Time.
——which states: "The heroin war will never be over, warns a garda expert".
I am calling Question No. 36.