The Bill will be widely welcomed across the community. This problem is of major concern to parents, public representatives, the Garda authorities and the courts. No one has been spared the curse of the drugs problem.
We must address the two main aspects of this tragic problem — prevention and cure. The Minister has brought forward a Bill which will go a long way towards meeting the prevention requirements. Anybody found dealing in drugs with a monetary value of more than £10,000 can expect a ten year prison sentence from the courts without remission other than the discretion the Minister has built into the Bill to cover those unfortunate people who are addicted to drugs.
That is the tragic aspect of this problem. The drug barons get young people hooked on drugs and then use them to sell the drugs which they do willingly to feed their habit. That is all part of the web of crime affecting communities.
In introducing the Bill, the Minister recognises the serious nature of the situation. At a recent parliamentary party meeting I was surprised that many rural colleagues were able to speak of firsthand experiences of crime in their constituencies. When representing an urban constituency, one tends to believe that urban areas bear the brunt of the problem. However, it appears that, due to increased Garda activity, additional information being submitted and people being prepared to address the problem, crime is being pushed into other regions.
The additional cost of the drugs problem to communities and the country is now reaching substantial proportions. Money which is badly needed in many other areas is now being directed towards this serious problem. Like many Deputies, I have attended numerous meetings of concerned parents and communities objecting to the location in their areas of health centres and clinics which dispense methadone. There is a crisis in this area. Deputy McManus drew a distinction between soft and hard drugs and suggested it was not acceptable that people were treated in the same way if they were caught with £10,000 worth of cannabis as if they were caught with £10,000 worth of heroin or other hard drugs. My simple philosophy is that soft drugs lead to hard drugs and that they are all a plague on our houses. The Minister is correct in deciding to deal with it in the manner he has.
The Minister's area of responsibility is at the coalface of this problem but it also involves the Department of Health and Children and the health boards. The Minister of State, Deputy Flood, is also involved as he is responsible for disbursing large sums of money in the area. There is a need for cohesion in tackling the drugs problem. The Minister has already made massive strides and it has become obvious, nationally and internationally, that the country is no longer a safe haven for people engaged in this vile trade. There has been tremendous success in this area through the use of the Criminal Assets Bureau which has resulted in the freezing of bank accounts and a recognition that Ireland is no longer a country where drugs can be sold and money laundered without hindrance. Mr. John Gilligan lived in my revised constituency and I have hands-on experience in local housing estates of the crisis which this trade has caused.
It is to be hoped that communities opposed to the provision of facilities catering for those affected will see that the Oireachtas is prepared to tackle the problem. It is also to be hoped that it will give them a willingness to see that we are, by the medium of this Bill, doing what has to be done as regards prevention. I hope it is passed speedily, signed into law as quickly as is practicable and brought into effect.
One of the most dangerous aspects of the Garda Síochána's work is dealing with these people who have vast sums of money available and who can afford to invest in their vile trade. That is not to speak of the risks individual gardaí have had to take in terms of obtaining evidence and bringing such people to court. Community gardaí also take risks in working with communities to wean people off drugs. Such people have an addiction and a need for treatment but they are also the local sales people for the drugs barons. Therein lies the need for the integrated approach to try to tackle the problem.
The Eastern Health Board is trying to disperse treatment facilities by setting up smaller units throughout my constituency so that no community is afflicted by large numbers of young people gathering to collect their prescribed methadone and causing problems. The local communities in which the rare facilities are located must carry an unfair burden in terms of an influx of young and mostly male addicts endeavouring to kick the habit but who are in need of treatment. The other communities in which the more dispersed services are to be located naturally object. Public representatives should give a lead on this.
The methadone maintenance programme provides a legalised drug to those who have been taking illegal drugs. A final cure is a serious and complex matter. For those willing to undergo a cure, residential detoxification facilities are urgently needed but they are costly. There are many demands on the Government's limited resources, such as the Minister arguing for money for more prison spaces and the Minister for Health and Children seeking money for more beds, etc. Having spoken to those involved in the Coolmine Therapeutic Unit, the Clondalkin Against Drugs group and other bodies, it seems that detoxification facilities are the eventual requirement to adequately tackle and break the cycle of drug addiction. I hope that, as part of an overall integrated plan, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the Minister for Health and Children ensure there is prevention and cure. That is the challenge facing us. I hope the Bill is passed quickly and becomes a landmark decision in tackling and preventing the availability of drugs.
