Vol. 627 No. 2
6 Ms Lynch asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs his views on the recent discovery of a major cocaine distribution operation in Cork; the efforts that are being made to educate people regarding the dangers of cocaine use in view of its widespread availability here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37001/06]
Supply reduction is one of the cornerstones of the national drugs strategy and the operations of the Garda Síochána are central in this regard. In 2005, a total of 1,166 people were prosecuted for drug offences in County Cork. This represented a significant increase on the 867 prosecuted in 2004. I welcome the recent break up of a cocaine distribution operation in Cork and I congratulate the Garda on its efforts. Each such success, especially one of the scale involved in Cork, is significant in the overall effort against the misuse of drugs. However, the operation illustrates the level of the danger posed by cocaine and given the global nature of the drugs problem, the Garda is very aware that there is always a risk of others trying to fill any gap in the market.
While I am confident that the problem of cocaine use is being addressed through the implementation of the actions in the national drugs strategy, I also recognised the need for an overview of the emerging threat from cocaine. In September, I received a joint briefing paper from the National Advisory Committee on Drugs and the national drugs strategy team. I am currently awaiting responses from the relevant agencies and Departments on how the recommendations of the briefing paper might be addressed. It is envisaged the matter will be followed up further at the December meeting of the interdepartmental group on drugs.
The main focus of the national drugs strategy in respect of the education sector is on preventative strategies targeting the primary and secondary levels, as well as the informal education sector, including youth services. Arising therefrom, all schools now have substance misuse prevention programmes included in their curricula. In addition, the national drugs awareness campaign focused specifically on cocaine use in one of its initiatives. That campaign, targeted at the 18 to 35 year old age group, sought to dispel the image among some that cocaine is a clean and safe drug with few detrimental consequences.
Other measures taken include: support for six cocaine-specific projects under the emerging needs fund, one of which is located in Cork and was allocated €110,000 to focus on the provision of direct community-based services for cocaine-users; and the launch last year of four pilot cocaine treatment projects with funding of almost €400,000 to examine different methods of treatment for cocaine use, as well as a training initiative focusing on front-line workers.
The problems associated with cocaine use are not being underestimated and I believe that progress is being made in that regard. I will continue to respond in a flexible and focused way as the situation evolves.
I thank the Minister of State for his reply and echo his congratulations to the gardaí on the successful seizure in Cork.
As I understand it, the seizure was worth approximately €500,000. A mixing agent was seized at the same time, and if it had been mixed with the cocaine, the drug would have been worth double, some €1 million. As the Minister knows, there are internationally accepted estimates that between 5% and 10% of illegal drugs are seized by the authorities. That gives one an idea of the quantity of cocaine that is being imported here and the kind of money involved.
I wish to focus once more on the recreational use of cocaine. The Minister of State referred to people viewing cocaine as a clean drug, but there is growing concern among medical experts that it is becoming a major health risk. The number of cocaine overdoses in 2005 was double the figure for the entire 1990s. From 1991 to the end of the decade, 100 cocaine-related deaths occurred, and 27 fatal overdoses have occurred since 2000 in which cocaine was a factor. The health aspect is that the heart can be damaged by cocaine. It can cause death, and where taken in conjunction with alcohol, it can do internal damage to the person. Whereas the measures outlined by the Minister are very welcome, I firmly believe that there must be a much more focused and effective approach to education for that growing band who see nothing wrong with using cocaine, since they perceive it as a clean drug. There is also the issue of their turning a blind eye to the fact that some very nasty, ruthless criminals are ultimately the greatest beneficiaries.
What urgency will the Minister of State bring to coming to terms with and preventing cocaine use and reducing dramatically the number of people who see taking it as a fairly harmless pursuit?
I agree with everything the Deputy said. There is no doubt that, while the gardaí and the customs and excise service have been very successful, large quantities of drugs are still getting through, and the price on the street is probably the most accurate measure of that. Any drugs seizure can seriously disrupt a given operation, put people out of business or foster disputes between them. However, others always seem willing to move into the breach.
I agree with the Deputy that the image of cocaine as clean and harmless is absolutely false. I do not wish to defend heroin, but cocaine is a far more dangerous substance. Many of the problems of heroin relate to how it is taken, the dirty needles, drug-taking paraphernalia and infections, with people running down their health. However, regarding the substances themselves, cocaine is far more serious in the long term to someone's well-being and health.
That is not the image, and many people see themselves as recreational users who would look down their noses at heroin users. One of our problems is trying to attract such people into services since those that we have so far use the same premises. We find that some of those middle-class people do not want to go near a drug treatment service on the basis that they are not really druggies. However, the damage that they are causing themselves is extremely serious. We have tried awareness campaigns, the last of which advertised on television, beer mats and posters. I am sure that Deputy O'Shea will remember the "Jack and Jill" series. It was targeted at pubs and night clubs used by 18 to 35 year olds. We have tried to reach them in their own language to make plain the damage that they are causing to themselves.
The problem is that they do not see the difficulty. They are still quite slow in coming forward for treatment. There is no substitution treatment like methadone for heroin. There are services, but many involve counselling, alternative therapies, acupuncture and so on. The national drugs strategy team and the national advisory committee on drugs are working together to produce proposals and we will see what they do. However, we must get those people into services targeted at them. It has been slow for the penny to drop.
I agree with the Minister on the dangers of cocaine. Is there any possibility of extending the support and range of services when it comes to educating parents and young people of the dangers of that and other drugs? There are parent-to-parent courses in north County Dublin of which the Minister of State will be aware, a good example of a positive response. One of the pharmaceutical companies produced a DVD called "Empower: The Family Guide to Understanding Drugs in Ireland". It is very hard-hitting, dealing not only with the effects on health. For example, if there is a conviction for possession or any law-breaking, people cannot travel or get a job. It effectively wrecks lives as well as health. Can the Minister of State facilitate the wider distribution of such a DVD, which is very immediate and wide in its impact?
On 12 June, "Prime Time Investigates" broadcast a programme called "The Irish Connection". It was clear that much of the cocaine was coming in through Spain. Does such a programme result in a sharper focus, or are we getting information that is already in the hands of those who need to take action? It struck me that many of the drug-dealers from Ireland were becoming deeply involved in Spain. That seems to have resulted in a major supply of cocaine into this country. Is there any progress to report on that score?
The best way of combating cocaine for publicans and everyone else is WD40. One need only spray it on cisterns and users are no longer able to snort it. Regarding evaluation of projects, I asked the Minister of State this before. At this stage I risk repeating myself ad infinitum. When will it take place? Will it be after Christmas as with rehabilitation? How many of the four original projects relating to cocaine abuse remain in operation? Will interim funding be available, in the period until the evaluation is produced, for those that remain up and running?
Cocaine mainly originates in Colombia in South America and has traditionally been transported into Europe through Spain and Portugal. Spain is the main transit route and many Irish drug dealers live permanently in Spain in places such as Alicante. The Garda Síochána has international contacts and works with Interpol and other police forces.
I do not know if it is the one to which Deputy Sargent referred, but I recall launching a DVD made by a group in Tipperary. I am not sure whether it related to cocaine abuse. We use any means necessary to get the message across but the difficulty is that, regardless of whether it is suicide, car accidents or cocaine, young people or those in their 20s and 30s always believe that bad things will never happen to them. They believe that they can handle cocaine, that they are merely recreational users, and that they can walk away from it whenever they like. That attitude is simplistic and wrong. Many of these individuals do walk away. I would not try to pretend that people take one sniff of cocaine and are hooked for life because that is not true. However, a certain number of people are sucked in and develop ongoing habits and severe health problems thereafter. Those who abuse both cocaine and alcohol become extremely aggressive.
On the four projects to which Deputy Crowe referred, the Tallaght project is ongoing and funding has been continued. I understand that one of the projects fell by the wayside. There must be a certain momentum and throughput of work before such projects can be properly evaluated. The funding will continue at least until such time as the evaluation is produced. Some of these projects can be extremely successful as short-term measures but it is our responsibility to discover whether they will work in the longer term. It is not really a case of evaluating them on the basis of the number of people that access them in the first two or three weeks. These projects must be evaluated on an ongoing basis. As stated earlier, some of those who see themselves as recreational users are reluctant to use drug treatment facilities that might be used by others during the day. They might realise that they have a problem but they probably want to access treatment facilities at different times than others or else attend at separate locations.
Matters are not as simple as they might often seem. The projects to which the Deputy refers have potential and funding will continue until the professional evaluation is produced.
7 Mr. Kehoe asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs if he is confident that a reduction of 5% in prevalence of opiate use will be achieved by 2007; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36908/06]
Two key studies are to be undertaken in the next year or so through which progress of the prevention pillar of the national drug strategy will be monitored. These will be comparable to studies that were carried out in 2000 and 2002.
With specific respect to opiate users, and to the 5% target figure for 2007, the first benchmark study carried out was the National Advisory Committee on Drugs, NACD, study, A 3-Source Capture Recapture Study of the Prevalence of Opiate Use in Ireland 2000 to 2001, published in May 2003. The study estimated that 14,452 people were using heroin in 2001, of which 12,456 were in the greater Dublin area. This represented a small decrease on the 1996 figure for the greater Dublin area, which indicated that 13,461 people were using heroin. Work on a further such study is now at planning stage but it will be at least 12 months before the figures emerge.
Meanwhile, the outcome of the recently commenced drugs prevalence survey 2006-07, with a first report of national prevalence figures and trends expected in late 2007, will provide up-to-date information on the national prevalence of a range of drugs including heroin. It will also, for the first time, provide comprehensive information on trends since the initial survey in 2002.
As to whether the 5% target alluded to by the Deputy and relating to the capture-recapture study will be reached, this will only be known when the new study is completed around the end of next year. However, there are encouraging signs of progress over the past couple of years in tackling heroin use, and drug use in general — be it in the areas of drug seizures, the expansion and success of treatment services, the development of prevention programmes in schools, the expanding work of local drugs task forces, the establishment of regional drugs task forces, the work of the young peoples facility and services fund and the results of the research outcome study in Ireland, ROSIE, which recently reported very positively on the successful outcomes from the treatment of opiate users.
I do not know much more than I did before the question was answered. I accept, however, that the Minister cannot predict what will be the figure and that we will be obliged to wait until the end of next year.
If the 5% target is to be perceived as being real, every effort must be made to reach it. Does the Minister of State intend to increase funding in the next two months and in the first half of 2007 to help us achieve the target? Can he provide a commitment that if the report, when it is published at the end of next year, shows that we only reached 3.5% or 4%, he will provide additional resources to ensure that the 5% target is reached? There is no point setting targets if we do not make an effort to reach them.
The Minister of State commented earlier that young people, whether in connection with drugs, suicide or car accidents, believe that nothing bad can happen to them. I agree with him in that regard. A cross-departmental effort must be made in respect of these matters and there should be an advertising campaign to emphasise that bad things can happen to young people. Only one in 8 million people win the national lottery, but we are told that it can happen to all of us. Everyone believes that they can win the lottery. If they did not, they would not buy tickets. However, when it comes to dabbling in drugs, driving like lunatics or taking their own lives, people do not believe that anything bad can happen to them. As the Minister stated, this is a matter we can tackle and it might help us reach the 5% target.
The money being spent through the Department increased dramatically in recent years. The figure for this year is €43 million, which represents an increase of 60% on the figure for two years ago.
I do not doubt that.
That is only part of what is spent. All of our initiatives through the local or regional drugs task forces are pilot schemes, which are then evaluated and mainstreamed. Approximately €25 million worth of funding has moved out into the mainstream. In the region of €70 million is being spent each year on projects that began at community level. When one adds this to the €80 million or €90 million invested by the HSE, it is clear that the Government is spending approximately €200 million on trying to tackle the drugs problem. I am sure that this funding will continue and that it will be increased because the problem is not going to go away.
If I begin to lay down too many targets, the Deputy will return to the House next month, criticise me for not achieving them and accuse me of failing.
Yes, but a target was set.
We are doing our best and are trying to get the message across. We are providing resources in respect of the initiatives that have come forward. The ROSIE study was great because it proved that treatment works. We are trying to provide people with services. The drug problem is international in nature and it would be foolish for us to believe that illegal drugs will not be brought into this country. We must try to work with people and try to help those who sadly become addicted.
I accept that money is being invested. However, a target has been set. It is not often that such targets are set and it is great to see this being done. However, the Minister of State has more or less stated we should not worry about the target. Should I forget about the target and stop asking questions about it or does it mean something? I do not want to know how much is being spent. I wish to discover whether I should cross the target off my list of matters about which to table questions to the Minister of State.
There are targets, but we need proper baseline data to follow up. We have the 2006 figure for heroin users, which showed a slight drop on the 2001 figure but showed that there were 2,000 plus outside Dublin. Six or seven years ago those people outside Dublin were probably included in the Dublin figure because one hears of stories of people who came from Arklow or Athlone every day by train.
When we get the figures next year I hope to see the figure in Dublin continuing to drop a little, but next year it may well be that the figures outside Dublin will have increased solely because the services now exist elsewhere. One hears dramatic headlines that the numbers in treatment in Athlone or Portlaoise have increased by 400%. That is a good development because it means that services are being provided, where previously they probably were not provided. A few of them might have been travelling to services in Dublin, but most of them were probably robbing or mugging or selling drugs to get money to buy their next fix. When we get this data next year we will have something with which to compare it. It will be the third set of figures for Dublin and the second set of figures for outside Dublin, and it will give us baseline data on how we are proceeding.
I heard the Minister of State speak of the targeting of finance. Will he indicate how the finance is being targeted? Is he aware that the problem, according to the analysis on the DVD, which he has obviously seen also, began for the cases to which it referred in primary school due to bullying. It was the resolve of the children who had been bullied not to be bullied in secondary school and, therefore, they were determined to fit in with their peer groups, act tough and dabble in drugs, as they saw it, as a way to gain acceptance in their peer group. Will the Minister of State liaise with the Department of Education and Science to ensure that we get to the heart of that reason to start on drugs?
The other side of it is the treatment. There has been some movement on treatment, but will the Minister of State accept that there is a long way to go before there will be adequate treatment available for those who are interested and in a position to gain treatment? Often those coming out of prison, for example, find that in prison they can get treatment but when they leave prison they are left without it. The incidence of relapse and return to drugs is an appalling indictment and, ultimately, indicates that the treatment itself was a failure. Will the Minister of State indicate whether there will be follow through on treatment resulting in the necessary genuine success rates for people who enter treatment and that they will be monitored and have their hands held until they are absolutely clean, able to get a job and return to normal life?
There are prevention, education and awareness campaigns. Prevention is one of the five pillars of the strategy. In large part it is focused on the cannabis level, through schools. Under the SPHE programme, all schools include addiction and drug prevention modules as part of general overall education so that students have knowledge of it. At first this was provided in all schools in local drugs task force areas but it is now supposed to be in all schools nationally.
On the heroin side, there are 8,000 of 14,500 people in treatment. That, seemingly, is good by international standards but we would like there to be more in treatment.
According to the figures I gave earlier, there are approximately 400 people in prison on methadone. There was a bigger problem when the open door system in prisons was more evident and people were let out on unplanned temporary release.
Methadone is not treatment.
This is what we are trying to do. Persons, whether inside or outside prison, are provided with the services and if somebody is released in a planned way, that service is provided. In the past the hiccups arose where somebody was released suddenly from prison due to overcrowding or the like, and the outside service was not in place. The position in that regard is better now and the Irish Prison Service is part of the IDG, from which we received a number of presentations. We are trying to provide the same services for drug misusers, both inside and outside prison.
8 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs if the study examining the use of Irish in Gaeltacht areas has been completed; the findings of this study; the actions his Department will take on foot of this study; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36904/06]
Work on the linguistic study to which the Deputy refers, which commenced in April 2004, has now been completed and I understand that an initial draft report has been received by my Department. This draft is now being assessed by the steering committee for the project and by officials of my Department. An analysis-assessment meeting with the authors of the report is expected to take place shortly — it might have taken place today.
As I have already outlined to the House, all the findings and proposals emerging from the study will require careful and considered examination and no decisions will be made on foot of the study until that process has been completed.
An bhfuil bunús leis an imní ag an dream a rinne an scrúdúchán? Tá imní orainn go léir faoi labhairt na Gaeilge, fiú sna Gaeltachtaí féin. Tá titim mhór le feiceáil sna bunscoileanna sna Gaeltachtaí agus is rud uafásach é go bhfuil scoileanna sna ceantracha Gaeltachta ag teagasc trí Bhéarla. An bhfuil sin scrúdaithe ag an choiste seo? An bhfuil bunús leis an imní atá orainn?
Tá beagnach gach gné de shaol na Gaeltachta scrúdaithe. Bhí dhá réamhthuarascáil a d'fhoilsíodh tamall ó shin agus tá díriú ar cheist na hóige. Ní gá dom bhreathnú ar staidéar ar bith le teacht leis an méid atá ráite ag an Teachta, go bhfuil dúshlán romhainn i measc an aos óg. Sin ráite, tá an saol ag athrú an-sciobtha agus ní heisceacht ar bith an Ghaeltacht. Caithfimid na dúshláin sin a chur sa gcomhthéacs sin. Níl éinne sa tír ag labhairt Gaeilge mar go gcaithfidh sé Gaeilge a labhairt mar nach bhfuil Béarla aige. Go gearr-théarmach is dúshlán sin mar nuair nach bhfuil ach teanga amháin ag duine níl mórán rogha aige agus tá rogha ag daoine anois. Má éiríonn linn teacht thar an dúshlán sin agus má dhéanann daoine cinneadh go mbeidh siad dátheangach, beidh an lá linn. Níor mhaith liom rud ar bith a rá faoi céard tá sa tuarascáil, níl tada feicthe agam dí.
An bhfoilseofar í?
Breathnóidh mé chun í a fhoilsiú nuair a bheidh sí scrúdaithe agam. Tá chuile sheans, áfach, go mbeidh sí i lámha duine éigin sula mbeidh sí agam ach ní scéal nua sin. Níl sé i gceist agam rud ar bith a choinneáil rúnda ach ba mhaith liom deis a bheith agam an rud a scrúdú agus tiocfaidh mé ar ais.
Is cuma céard a dhéanfaimid, beidh béim ar tharraingt línte sa nGaeltacht. Ní chuige sin atá muid. An príomhrud ná láidriú na Gaeltachta mar atá sí, gan bheith ag baint uaidh. An bhfuil stráitéis níos fearr leis an Ghaeilge a láidriú sa nGaeltacht? Sin an rud ba cheart dúinn bheith ag díriú air.
Written Answers follow Adjournment Debate.
