The Minister is late because the bells did not ring in her corridor. The 12 minutes will be added at the end of the debate.
Drugs Hauls: Motion.
Senator Neville has 12 minutes.
I move:
That Seanad Éireann commends the security forces on their recent drugs hauls; and urges the Government to give the most urgent attention and the fullest possible resources to the implementation of an integrated attack on the drugs problem at all levels.
This important motion has implications for the continuation of our society. The record seizures of cannabis and Ecstasy last Friday and Saturday are extremely serious and give a small insight into the problem which confronts the State. The street value of the drugs, £25 million of cannabis and £0.5 million of Ecstasy, highlights the size of the business in which the criminal community is engaged. While the seizure is the biggest haul of drugs so far in the State, it is only the tip of the iceberg.
There is every reason to believe that the nature and extent of the drugs problem in Ireland is worse than it was at any time in the history of the State. Not only is drug abuse a serious problem in urban areas, but drugs are also readily available in rural Ireland and the situation is deteriorating. The growing drug abuse problem is the most serious issue facing Irish society. If it is not controlled, it will threaten the existence of society as we know it.
I discussed this with an American who is involved in this area and he said that the structure of society is threatened by the drug culture and the level of crime associated with it. Garda figures for 1993 show that seizures of controlled drugs increased by 15 per cent over the previous year. Offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act, 1984, increased by 10 per cent over the same period. Garda sources suggest that the latest provisional figures show a further escalation of the problem in 1994.
The success of the security forces in seizing drugs in the past three years is highly commended. The Government must ensure that the fullest possible resources are available to facilitate a concerted attack against this problem. Ireland must not become the drug trafficking centre of Europe. The security forces must have the necessary men, material and equipment to deal with the crisis.
As a step in controlling this, the Government should examine the introduction of helicopter units in the Garda Síochána. Airborne law enforcement is a practical and cost-effective tool in the fight against crime. It could be effective against trafficking of drugs on seagoing vessels. It has been a statistical success in other jurisdictions. Studies show that the use of helicopters can help to suppress crime because the helicopter can see at least six times as much detail as any ground vehicle in the same time. It can search a 25 mile area in the same time as it takes a ground vehicle to search a one mile area. It can increase the level of convictions by providing aerial photographs or videos of criminal activity. Helicopter units are a proven deterrent against crime. A dozen people might see a patrol car in five minutes, while 1,000 would see a helicopter.
Patrolling the Irish coastline is a task to which the helicopter is ideally suited. While helicopters have been used by the security forces in recent times, the Government must closely examine the introduction of Garda operated units. Helicopter patrols are cost-effective. In Los Angeles the cost of a two man patrol car searching one square mile is $54 while the total cost of a two man helicopter surveillance unit for one square mile is $8.5.
The drugs problem is escalating throughout the world. In 1993 more than 400 tonnes of hashish, seven tonnes of heroin, almost 18 tonnes of cocaine and large quantities of other illegal substances were seized throughout the EU. However, it is estimated that this is less than 10 per cent of the total quantity of drugs illegally imported to the Continent.
The Irish coastline is a major target area for drug shipments. Since July 1991 major drug seizures were made along the south-west coast. Cannabis, with a street value of £7 million, was discovered on a yacht at Courtmacsharry in July 1991. In 1992 300 kilogrammes of cannabis resin was seized at Ringaskiddy and 50 kilogrammes of cannabis was seized in Cork harbour. Cannabis was discovered in large quantities along the Cork-Kerry coastline in 1993; 135 kilogrammes near Skibbereen in January and 500 kilogrammes in July of the same year, with an estimated street value of £6.8 million. Cannabis, estimated to be worth £1.25 million, was discovered buried on a beach in Rosscarbery in May 1993. The arrest of the yacht, The Brime, with two tonnes of cannabis was one of the biggest successes prior to last weekend. In March of this year cocaine to the value of £3 million was found on the Clare coast south of Black Head near Fanore village. On 26 March cannabis to the value of £300,000 was seized in the Innishannon area of County Cork.
This demonstrates the level of activity along the coast and the security forces must be congratulated on their success in this area. However, I must emphasise that this is just the tip of the iceberg. We must recognise that it represents a small portion of the actual level of drug smuggling. Given the resources and manpower, the Garda Síochána has the expertise to make further inroads in drug dealers' activities. The EU must play a key role in this area. There is a common duty among the member states to guard the European coastline against drug smuggling. I reiterate the strong case made by the Taoiseach at the weekend for the establishment of an EU funded European coastguard which could augment the over-stretched and under-resourced Naval Service.
This is the drug trafficking season. At this time of year the international drug barons will exploit the increase in marine activity to ply their evil trade along the Irish coastline. As well as seeking European help to combat what is essentially a European problem, we must also put our own house in order. I urge the Government to establish a joint task force to spearhead the fight against the drug barons and to provide the Navy with the necessary legislative powers to arrest suspicious vessels. The establishment of a joint task force involving personnel from the Garda Síochána, the customs service and the Irish Navy would end interdepartmental rivalry and ensure a team effort against drug trafficking on the basis of shared intelligence.
Furthermore, because of deficiencies in legislation, the Navy is unable to take unilateral and immediate action against suspect vessels. It must first contact the Department of Defence seeking assistance from the civil power and must have either gardaí or customs personnel aboard before it can board or detain a ship. This procedure results in valuable time being lost. Legislation should be introduced to allow the Navy to act along the same lines as it does in its role as a fisheries protection body. It would then be able to board suspicious boats, detain them for further investigation and bring them to shore to be handed over to the Department of the Marine and to the Garda.
In addition to adopting these measures, we must convince our European partners of the need for additional European financial assistance in the short term to help combat drug trafficking off the Irish coast and of the need in the long-term for the establishment of a European coastguard. Enforcement alone has not and will not solve the drug problem. The best the Garda can do in the enforcement area is sit on the lid of the problem by remorselessly pursuing the dealers and tackling the supply network and the attendant violence while assisting education policies in the prevention area.
Drug abuse is a multi-faceted problem. Drug treatment facilities must be expanded and upgraded. There is a need to expand the drug education programme in schools. We must, as a matter of urgency, formulate a coherent policy to tackle the drugs crisis. The survival of society as we know it may depend on having such a coherent policy. There are no accurate figures available for the number of drug abusers in Ireland. The age at which people first experiment with drugs is falling all the time. The major drugs of addiction, as indicated by the health research board report of 1993, are heroin, morphine sulphate tablets and other opiates. These are drugs which also give rise to the greatest concern because of the antisocial behaviour of those who misuse them as well as the risk of the spread of HIV/AIDS which arises from the sharing of contaminated needles.
In 1991 the Government announced a strategy to prevent drug abuse. This was based on the recommendations of the national co-ordinating committee on drug abuse. The strategy recognises that the problem of drug abuse is complex and difficult and that it is a problem to which there are no easy or instant solutions. It, therefore, proposed a multi-disciplinary approach requiring action in the areas of supply reduction, demand reduction and increased access to treatment and rehabilitation programmes together with co-ordination mechanisms geared towards their effective implementation. The strategy was accepted by that Government. It is timely that a comprehensive review is completed on the outcome of the implementation of the strategy. I ask the Minister to ensure that such a review takes place and that the report on its findings be put before this House.
On 25 January this year Fianna Fáil introduced a Private Members' motion on this issue. During that debate I outlined in detail to the House research which was completed by the National Youth Council of Ireland in October 1994. I wish to refer briefly to its findings because they are important. They were that drug abuse does not recognise class barriers; most young people can get drugs if they want to do so; drugs are readily available and, in some cases, socially acceptable; young people know a lot about drugs, the cost and side effects; initially people experiment with drugs from curiosity, particularly those who experiment with solvents such as sniffing glues, gases and petrol; young people are usually offered drugs by friends and acquaintances and not by shady people and schools are a major drug supply point for many.
I second the motion proposed by Senator Neville and I welcome the Minister for Justice to the House.
This is probably the most important debate we have had in this House for quite a long time. We are all only too well aware of the ongoing drugs problem and how it is affecting every aspect of society. Drugs will be the new killer disease. However, unlike other diseases which only kill the person affected, drugs affect many others — the family and friends of the addict, people whose houses are burgled and people who are mugged because somebody is trying to get a few pounds for a fix. It is important that the Minister address this serious problem and this House should adopt a unified approach. I hope all the ideas that are put forward tonight — indeed at any time — for dealing with the drugs problem will be taken on board.
I commend the Garda for their recent tremendous successes. I also commend the customs officials and all who work in this area. Their work in recent years has paid off, particularly in the seizure last week of £20 million worth of cannabis resin which was found in a container in Dublin port. Such seizures and finds are achieved only through meticulous training and detection with the necessary resources and equipment being made available to the bodies involved. It is important that every resource of the Department is utilised. If we are successful in this area there will be a considerable saving in other areas, such as health care, education and particularly in the cost of incarcerating individuals.
As a practitioner in the courts I often hear the mitigating argument that the defendant is on drugs, that he is seeking help and that he deserves another chance. I am not saying some people do not deserve another chance but, if the drugs were not so readily available, there might not be a need to seek another chance. Education for prevention of the problem is important, particularly when we see how it affects young families and young people. The need for treatment is important. We hear of waiting lists for treatment, but that did not arise only when the Minister was appointed. It is important that the Minister consult with the Minister for Health, the Minister for Education and, at a different level, the Minister for Foreign Affairs. I hope she will make this problem her hobby-horse, as it were, at European Union level. The drugs problem can only be solved by the coming together of European minds. We will not solve it alone, no matter what precautions we take.
It is important that this country does not become the starting point for drug trafficking in Europe. An interesting report on this issue was published in The Irish Times on 31 March last. A map showed that this ship started in Kenya and stopped in Antwerp before arriving in Ireland. This is a huge business and we must commend the customs national drugs team, the Garda and all those involved in this operation, code-named “Early Bird”. They prevented horrendous misery, hardship and crime, not alone in this country but elsewhere.
The Minister should look at ways of strengthening the drugs squad, educating people on drugs and of gaining greater intelligence about drugs. She should consider further preventative measures around our coast, the stationing of squads around the country and the use of helicopters. A small amount of money put towards prevention will reap millions in savings.
The Minister should also consider a drugs educational programme in schools so that students are well informed about and warned of the dangers of drugs. This will ensure people will not think they can take small amounts of drugs without adverse effects. Drugs are illegal because they are harmful and devastating to so many people, not just drug users. This is a big business and we must do everything in our means to stamp it out. At times people say small amounts of drugs will not necessarily do much harm, but unfortunately small amounts lead to larger ones and to greater problems. We must ensure this is prevented.
When the Minister speaks I am sure she will accept the various points made. This House is largely united on how to approach the problem. We are all aware of it. Everyone in the House knows of constituents or others who have been affected. There may be a slight diversity of opinion about the approaches and we all want more money to be ploughed in. When the Minister is fighting her corner in Cabinet, all of her colleagues, especially those in Departments also concerned with drugs, will be supportive of her approach. A combination of various Departments will be needed to tackle the problem. I hope she responds positively. I formally second the motion.
I move amendment No. 1:
To delete all words after "hauls;", and substitute the following:
"and calls on the Government to
(a) provide adequate resources to the Garda, the Navy, and the Customs and Excise;
(b) publish the O'Donnell report regarding the co-ordination of the aforementioned authorities;
(c) establish a National Drugs Enforcement Agency; and
(d) highlight the horrendous drug trafficking problem in this country at European Union level, with a view to securing European funding to help combat this problem."
My colleague, Senator Wright, is sharing his time with me, so with the agreement of the House I will speak for ten minutes.
Both Senator Wright and yourself have eight minutes each, but you are two separate speakers.
Yes, but Senator Wright has agreed to give some of his time to me, so I can speak for ten minutes, if that is acceptable.
I have not come across this before. Is it agreed to extend Senator Mulcahy's time by two minutes? Agreed.
From now?
Senator Mulcahy should not be so fussy or we will take it back from him.
The Minister will know from the attitude of Fianna Fáil this morning that where Government legislation or activity is good and merits support, we have been more than willing to give it. I thank her for complimenting us on our support this morning and for her co-operation. However, Fianna Fáil is not prepared to accept the Fine Gael motion because we strongly believe it smacks of complacency. This is not a view particular to Fianna Fáil. Yesterday's leading article in The Irish Times stated:
...there are few signs that the deep level of concern felt by the ordinary citizen has percolated through to Government. How else can one explain the easygoing, indeed complacent, approach to this problem?
The Irish Times is echoing a deep rooted concern that the problem is so large and growing at such a rate that it is likely to get out of hand. I do not address this only to the Minister, because every resource available to the Government must be channelled urgently to combat this problem.
I hope I do not speak with unmerited gravity because the Minister will be aware of the horrendous statistics on the rate of increase of drug abuse and trafficking. She will also have seen the figures from the customs search teams. In 1991, they seized drugs worth £10.2 million; in 1992, £11 million; in 1993, £16.5 million. In 1994 the figure was down to £5 million, but already in 1995 drugs worth more than £25 million have been seized by the customs authorities alone. That is a compliment to the customs unit concerned and we are happy to support the first part of the motion, which commends the security forces on their recent hauls. However, many other things must be done as a matter of urgency by the Government to tackle this problem.
I have some questions for the Minister. When will the O'Donnell report be published? When will she agree to the establishment of a national drugs enforcement agency? Will she prepare a comprehensive report and statistics on the scale and extent of drug trafficking in Ireland? What plans has she to stop the importation of drugs into Ireland, now that the European Union has introduced frontiers without passports? Ireland and the UK are not signatories to the latest agreement because there is a common travel area between our countries. What steps will the Minister take to obtain European funding to protect our coastline from the invasion of drugs? The Maastricht Treaty specifically mentions a Europe-wide police force, but no information has appeared about it yet.
Is the Minister aware there are large waiting lists at the drug treatment centres? If she is aware, what is she doing to shorten the lists? Is she satisfied that there are only five vessels exclusively dedicated to drugs interdiction operating around our coasts? That does not include the Navy, which has co-operated on many occasions, but five vessels are not sufficient to cover the coast of one of our provinces. It is a ridiculously small number to patrol about 1,600 kilometres of coastline. Has the Minister started a system of co-operation on drug interdiction with her counterparts in Northern Ireland? te
Does the Minister agree that a large amount, perhaps the majority, of violent crime in Ireland, especially in Dublin, is drug related? What is she doing about the drugs black spots such as Dolphin's Barn, where drugs are almost openly peddled? She must be aware that in many parts of Dublin halls are hired and the Garda know that Ecstasy is taken there, again almost openly. If I sound alarmist, it is only because the public feels the same way. We go into our constituencies and people tell us that they do not feel safe in their houses because they are afraid that drug addicts are going to come in the middle of the night and steal their money.
The liberal approach to drugs, which our party is totally against, has failed. It has failed in Zurich where they had a drug needle park. It has failed in Amsterdam, which is now the drug and criminal centre of Europe to a large extent. I say that advisedly; I have spoken to some of the security officers involved in this country who believe that Amsterdam is a centre for much of this activity.
We do not want an uncoordinated, under-resourced effort, with different people pulling in different directions. Until the Minister establishes — this is the most important part of our amendment — a national drugs enforcement agency to co-ordinate the operations of the Garda, the customs, the Navy, the Army and the Air Corps, people in this country will not have confidence that this Government is on top of the drugs problem.
I am sure the Minister agrees with me that the last Minister for Justice, Deputy Geoghegan-Quinn, was on top of her job; she was strong and vigorous. She instituted a system of surprise visits to Garda stations. Will the present Minister give us an undertaking that she will continue with those surprise visits and that she will visit drug hot spots? The Minister may find this funny, but the public is not laughing.
The people out there know that she has been Minister for only three months. Would the Senator have a bit of common sense?
I have not passed sentence on this Minister because she has been a Minister for only three months. However, the pressure is on the Minister. It may be a laughing matter for the Minister.
It is not.
Well, the Minister is laughing now and this is a very serious topic. The jury is out on this Government in relation to drugs enforcement and at the rate the drug problem is increasing, the jury may well bring in a verdict of guilty.
I hereby commend the amendment to the Fine Gael motion to the House. I ask the Minister to provide adequate resources to the Garda, Navy, Customs and Excise and also to publish the O'Donnell report. The Irish Times published an article saying that there is no reason why the O'Donnell report should not be published forthwith. I also ask the Minister to establish the national drugs enforcement agency and to get the proper funding from Europe so that we can deal with this problem in an integrated way.
I thank the Minister for her time. She is in the House for the second time today. I hope the Minister does not infer rudeness from the tone of my voice, but this is a problem that all politicians hear a lot about. I would be failing in my duty as a public representative if I did not make sure that the Minister heard about it. The Fianna Fáil Party is only asking the Minister to deliver what the people of Ireland want. We want urgency and activity. We want the Minister to be strong and to clamp down on this problem in a co-ordinated way. I commend the amendment to the House.
By way of clarification, I want to make it very clear that, with the agreement of the House, a Senator may share his or her allotted time with another Senator. This happens from time to time. Two separate Senators may not amalgamate their time and then subdivide it. What we have done in your case, Senator, is to allocate you an extra two minutes by agreement of the House. Senator Wright still has eight minutes. It is a once off situation. I do not wish in any way to create a precedent and it will not ever happen again. You caught me off guard.
Does that mean we are going to get the same indulgence?
That is usually known as a stroke.
If it was a stroke it was not, as far as I am concerned, intended to be a stroke, I can assure Senators. I do not think it was so intended.
I do not like to be accused by anybody of stroke politics.
I have explained the situation.
I ask the Senator to withdraw that. I want that withdrawn.
Senator Mulcahy, please resume your seat for a moment.
I ask you to ask that Senator to withdraw that.
Please resume your seat for a minute. Senator Norris said that in very good faith. He did not mean it seriously.
It was a question, not a statement.
Senator Wright, you have eight minutes.
That is seven minutes, I think.
You have said enough, Senator Magner.
I second the amendment. I also commend the action that took place in our own constituency yesterday in relation to the apprehension of the arms, guns and four individuals in the town of Balbriggan. The House this morning recognised the excellent work done by the Garda on that occasion.
Sometimes a scream is better than a thesis, somebody once said. The congratulations being poured on the security forces in connection with recent drugs hauls have a very hollow ring to them. Words are cheap, action costs effort and funding. When it comes to tackling the illegal drugs racket that is tearing apart the fabric of our society, all the back-patting and congratulations in the world are useless unless we have action.
It was extremely good that the weekend seizures of cannabis and Ecstasy took place, but the reality is that those seizures were just the tip of the iceberg, as Senator Neville and others mentioned in the last couple of days. The drugs problem in this State is now worse than it was in the early 1980s, not just in regard to the misery and violence that goes with it but also with regard to the spread of drug abuse from the inner city out to other areas into schools, discos, streets and house parties.
As the Minister knows, it is unfortunately true, as a survey to be published soon will show, that the normal teenager in our constituency is saying that there is wide availability of drugs in our constituency. Our constituency is no different from everywhere else in that. That has to be of concern to all who represent the area and in particular to the Minister, who has a national responsibility.
More drugs are available; more drug addicts are being created. More attacks are being made on innocent, often elderly people and tourists. More robberies are being committed, more arrests being made. All these offences are related to drug abuse and the need to feed addiction. It is shameful, terrifying and worrying. What has happened to combat this evil? Official complacency, as my colleague, Senator Mulcahy, has mentioned. We must consider that tonight. The Minister must address this issue in her contribution later on this evening.
I wish to remind the Minister of some of the replies she gave in the other House in the last month. There is now a reduced drugs squad. The national co-ordinating committee on drugs has not met for over a year. Our airports and ferry terminals are devoid of any sign of specialised Garda drugs units, which should be in place there if there is to be a serious effort to tackle this problem, a problem which seems to be out of control.
The Department "is working on proposals to ensure a more co-ordinated approach to the drugs problem", as the Minister told the other House in the last month. The Department is only "working on" the situation and all the while drug pushing, drug abuse, drug importation, drug related beatings, disease, death, violence and murder go on. As Senator Mulcahy has mentioned, we require action at this stage. Action and funding are needed now. Congratulating the security forces is all very well, and those congratulations are richly deserved, but it is time for the talking and promising to come to an end. I ask the Minister, as my colleague asked her, whether she has a policy in relation to drug abuse? I sincerely hope that the usual fix will not be that we will set up a committee.
That is the Fianna Fáil fix.
An all-out war is needed against people who import and sell drugs. As my colleague, Deputy John O'Donoghue, said last night, and I quote: "If indecision and prevarication were drugs, the whole Cabinet would be high."
I am pleased to have the opportunity to address the Seanad for the second time today on this most important matter. I intend to set out in detail the response of the Government to this most pressing of problems. As has already been said, it is a problem that has health, social, education and law enforcement dimensions. Sadly, drugs did not arrive in this country on 15 December 1994. If they had then I would quite happily accept all the criticism that Fianna Fáil Members have tried to lay on my shoulders this evening. Listening to those speakers one would think that their party had not been in Government for the last seven years during which time we have actually seen the kind of growth in drugs availability that they are complaining about now. Senator Mulcahy listed some of the finds that were made over the last few years but in the 1993-94 period, when they were in Government, finds went down. Since I became Minister for Justice the finds have gone up and this is as a direct result of the work of the Garda and the Customs and Excise service. Drugs have been coming into our country for a number of years during which time young and not so young people have been getting their hands on them. It is essential that they be caught by the Garda and customs officials so that they do not find their way on to the streets and into our homes.
Fianna Fáil Senators should reflect on the fact that their party's Ministers have been in the Department of Justice for the last seven years. If there were so many simple answers, why did they not discover them? They should not pretend that this new Government can somehow, after three or four months in office, correct everything that they allowed to take place during their term of office.
Fair play.
When does the Minister begin to play?
There can be no greater priority than the need to deal with the drugs problem. The recent seizures made by the Garda and Customs are to be applauded but there is no room for complacency. We are all aware of the damage that drugs can do, and we know the misery caused to families and entire communities by this menace. It is a serious problem requiring a serious response. It is not just the lives of abusers and their families that are ruined; the problem also affects the lives of others who fall victim to crimes committed by abusers so that they may feed their habit.
There are, of course, no easy solutions. The problem must be confronted on a number of different levels. Law enforcement alone can never be the solution. In the time available to me I want to set out in detail the Government's response to the problem. Some of what I have to say was covered by my colleague the Minister for Health, Deputy Michael Noonan, when he dealt with a similar motion in the Seanad last January. He and I share a common view that the drugs problem must be put at the top of the agenda.
The multi-agency approach, involving the Departments of Health, Justice and Education, and their respective agencies, has been recognised as providing the best possible framework to deal with the problem. We need action on the demand and supply sides of the problem. Much has been achieved and special funding has been provided for prevention and treatment services. Satellite clinics have been established and general practitioners are being encouraged to take on responsibility for the treatment of abusers. Detoxification facilities are being expanded. Emphasis has been put on demand reduction through education, as other speakers have said, and prevention initiatives.
The need for this co-ordinated effort is especially apparent to those charged with law enforcement. The connection between drug dealing, drug addiction and crime is well known. Addicts need money and crime is one way of obtaining it. The problem of abuse of hard drugs, which is essentially confined to Dublin, must be faced up to if we are to get on top of crime.
I would, however, like to begin by placing on the record of the Seanad my appreciation, and that of the Government, for the tremendous efforts of the Garda and the Customs and Excise service in seizing record quantities of controlled substances in recent days. Last Friday, 31 March, customs officers assisted by gardaí from Harcourt Square, seized 2,000 kilogrammes of cannabis resin in Dublin port. On Sunday, 2 April gardaí seized approximately 25,000 Ecstasy tablets in Dún Laoghaire port. These are significant seizures which follow a series of successful operations carried out by the law enforcement agencies so far this year. Since the beginning of January, 13 finds — some of them very large indeed — have been made by the Garda and customs. These seizures are evidence that the Garda and customs are successfully targeting the traffickers. However, as I said in the Dáil last night, nobody is complacent because of these seizures. On the contrary, the scale of the seizures, irrespective of whether the drugs in question were intended for this country or elsewhere, puts the dimension of the drugs problem into perspective.
International experience has shown that there are no easy answers, and once the problem has developed it is notoriously difficult to reverse. However, I am not interested in listening to those who shrug their shoulders and say we will just have to get used to the problem. I do not accept this counsel of despair. I have no illusions about the scale of the problem but this only makes me more determined to deal with it. The problem is not insurmountable; it has to be tackled and it is being tackled. To do so requires a co-ordinated and integrated approach. But we have to deal in parallel with the demand for drugs, the conditions which generate that demand and the supply of drugs.
The Government strategy to prevent drug abuse, which was published in 1991, recognises that the problem is a complex and difficult one. It proposes a multi-disciplinary approach requiring action in the areas of supply reduction, demand reduction and increased access to treatment and rehabilitation programmes. In other words, the strategy calls for an integrated attack on the problem on a number of different levels. This approach provides the best possible framework to deal with the problem.
Before dealing with the broader context, I would like to focus on my Department's and the Garda Síochána's response to the drug problem. I want to deal with the resources available to the Garda because there has been some misinformed comment recently about numbers in the drug squads being reduced and I heard it again here this evening. Indeed, some comment suggests that there is only one drug squad. As there would seem to be some confusion about this matter, let me put the record straight. All Garda drug units throughout the country are co-ordinated on a national basis through the national drug administration office in Garda headquarters which is staffed by full-time gardaí with a detailed and specialised knowledge of the drugs problem.
In Dublin, which is the main area where heroin is a problem, drug units have been established in each of the city's five Garda divisions and their activities are co-ordinated through the central drug squad based in Harcourt Square. This approach has enabled the central drug squad to monitor the activities of drug dealers all over the city and it has significantly enhanced the Garda intelligence-gathering capability. In addition to the central drug squad, full-time drug units operate in Santry, Cabra, Raheny, Dún Laoghaire, Crumlin, Ballyfermot, Tallaght, Store Street, Pearse Street, Kevin Street and Donnybrook. To sum up, we have never had more specialist drug units operating in the capital city.
Outside Dublin, there are full-time drug units in Cork, Galway and Limerick. Drug abuse is not confined to Dublin; it is a national problem and the Garda Síochána is responding accordingly. The problem of drug misuse in rural areas is primarily one of cannabis and, to a lesser extent, Ecstasy. I can assure you that rural areas are not being overlooked in the fight against drugs. This is a national problem requiring a national solution.
The recent cocaine find in County Clare reminded us of the need for constant vigilance when it comes to drugs trafficking. As I said in the Dáil at the time, this applies equally to whether drugs are intended for the domestic market or, alternatively, are imported for transhipment elsewhere in Europe or beyond. It is no comfort to me to think that the drugs found here might not find their way into Irish hands, because they are drugs which can damage and ruin people's lives wherever they live.
In each case, it is imperative that all possible measures be taken to prevent importation. I am determined that we will not become a soft touch for drug traffickers who may entertain notions that we are a convenient back-door to Europe. We have an international responsibility and we take it seriously.
I am aware that from time to time fears have been expressed with regard to the vulnerability of the south and south-west coastline. This coastline is very long and has many remote piers, coves and other secluded areas. For this reason, it has been the subject of special attention from the various law enforcement agencies concerned. In so far as the Garda is concerned, there is a strong emphasis in the divisions along the seaboard on the problem of drug trafficking and the Garda has received specialised training.
I would now like to refer to Senator Neville's suggestion — I have already given an open mind to this — of having an aerial wing for the Garda. At the moment, the Garda avail of the services of our Air Corps, but it is not always adequate for its needs, particularly at night when the helicopters will not go out for the Garda. I have been examining this issue since I came into office. It is not an issue to which any other Minister for Justice seems to have given any great deal of thought. I currently have no proposals to make on the matter but I am examining it urgently.
I know there has been some public concern about the level of co-ordination of the various law enforcement agencies in the fight against drugs. Indeed, I have been as concerned as anyone at the claims of a lack of Garda-customs co-ordination. All the law enforcement agencies must work together with one central objective, stopping the importation of drugs. For that reason, I very much welcome the close co-operation between the Garda and the customs in the recent finds, which is a good and positive sign that it is continuing.
My Department is finalising a report on important aspects of law enforcement in relation to the drugs problem here. The amendment calls this report the O'Donnell report. I do not know where the tablers of the amendment got this name from — it is not necessarily the name of the report being prepared — but I expect it came from the previous Minister.
Has the Minister heard of Mr. O'Donnell?
Yes, I have.
He works in the Minister's Department.
I know he does but no report named the O'Donnell report has been published.
I intend to prepare proposals for Government based on the report as soon as possible. The main task of the report is to identify the best arrangements for achieving a cohesive and co-ordinated response to the drug trafficking problem by the existing law enforcement agencies and the proposals will be mainly concerned with this aspect. The report also examines the legal powers of members of the law enforcement agencies and the need for legislative changes to assist the law enforcement response. The contribution in the health and education areas in developing strategies to reduce demand for drugs is also considered. The proposals which I will bring to Government will cover these aspects.
However, I would like now to comment on the question whether a national drugs enforcement agency should be established. In this regard, I would refer Senators to what I said in the Dáil last month. I share my predecessor's conclusion——
Very good.
——that the establishment of such an agency would not be appropriate to the drugs situation as it pertains in this country and for this reason, my proposals will be designed to enhance the co-operation and effectiveness of the existing law enforcement agencies. I am certain that if Deputy Geoghegan-Quinn was still Minister for Justice, the Fianna Fáil Members of the Seanad would not be putting this amendment down because she was not in favour of a national drugs enforcement agency. At least Deputy Geoghegan-Quinn was not in favour of it last December; she may have changed her mind since then and that is her prerogative.
That is not in the Minister's script.
Things change.
In so far as the question of resources for the customs service is concerned, I am aware that a case has been made at European Union level for the provision of assistance to enable this country to equip itself better to protect the Irish sector of the Union's external frontier. That question of resources is being dealt with in the ECOFIN Council of Ministers and I have already had discussions with the Minister for Finance, Deputy Quinn, on the issue to ensure that Ireland gets the necessary resources to allow for the removal of the borders.
Drugs are smuggled into this State by sea, air and overland. It is neither practical nor possible to search every person, package or item that comes into the State. For this reason, intelligence-based strategies are crucial in combating the importation of drugs and in this regard, the closest international co-operation is vital if such strategies are to prove effective. The seizures made last weekend have certainly proved that. As Senators will know, those seizures arose from very good international intelligence.
The serious implications for law enforcement which arose from the abolition of customs control on 1 January 1993 were examined in detail. Drug traffickers do not respect borders and the ending of customs controls posed an additional and serious challenge to those charged with law enforcement. As a response, the European Drugs Unit has been established. The unit, which became operational during 1994, is charged with the vital mission of exchanging and co-ordinating drugs intelligence throughout the European Union. A liaison officer from the Garda Síochána is serving with the unit. Above all else. intelligence is the key to stopping the importation of drugs and in this respect. I believe that the European Drugs Unit will occupy a pivotal role.
In enforcing the law, we must target not just the pusher on the street corner but also the so-called "drug barons" who direct things behind the scenes. The Criminal Justice Act, 1994, provides for the seizure and confiscation of the proceeds of crime, including drug trafficking. I have no doubt that this legislation, brought in by my predecessor, will make a significant contribution in the fight against drugs.
With regard to the implementation of the anti-money-laundering measures contained in the Act, I recently made a commencement order to bring sections 32 and 57 of the Act into operation on 2 May next. These sections require banks and other financial bodies to carry out identification checks to prevent money-laundering and to report to the Garda Síochána where they suspect that laundering is taking place in relation to their business. They supplement other provisions of the 1994 Act, in particular the money-laundering offence and the power to confiscate criminal proceeds and to obtain restraint orders to seize and freeze suspected criminal assets, which came into force last year. I commend the Fianna Fáil Senators to read that part of the speech — in the Dáil last night, a Fianna Fáil Deputy implied that none of these were available to the Garda — so they will be aware what is available by way of legislation to allow the Garda to enforce these Acts.
On a related point, I will shortly be putting proposals to the Government for the establishment of a national bureau of fraud investigation. This will be a further weapon in targeting the disposal of the proceeds of crime.
At the outset, I spoke about the Government's strategy to deal with drugs. The strategy requires a threefold attack on the problem. We must educate everyone to the dangers of drug misuse, especially those who are most at risk. We must treat and rehabilitate those unfortunate enough to succumb to drug addiction and, of course, we must relentlessly enforce the law.
Drug use cuts across all classes of society, as Senators have said, and we must educate everyone about the problem. In keeping with the recommendations in the Government strategy, an emphasis has been placed on demand reduction through education and prevention initiatives. These include the substance abuse prevention programme in second level schools, which was developed by the Departments of Health and Education, a pilot project on parent education on alcohol, drugs and family communication, the launch of the Garda mobile drug prevention unit, the development of resource materials on alcohol and solvent abuse, the organisation of community-based training programmes for health and education professionals and the production of educational materials for use by both the public and professionals working in the field.
At the heart of the strategy is the need to treat and rehabilitate those addicted to drugs. I know that much has been achieved in this area in recent times. Three satellite clinics, providing a range of services for drug misusers, have been established by the Eastern Heath Board at Baggot Street, Ballyfermot and Amiens Street. At present, a total of 420 drug misusers are on methadone maintenance programmes at the satellite clinics and a further 190 patients receive methadone at the Drug Treatment Centre, Pearse Street.
I am aware that a waiting list for the clinics has built up; it has not just built up in the last few months. My colleague, the Minister for Health, Deputy Noonan, is anxious to ensure the widest possible use of these clinics and as a first step to deal with this waiting list, the Eastern Heath Board is arranging to open two of the satellite clinics for methadone maintenance in the afternoons. In addition, funding is being made available to the Eastern Health Board to enable it to open additional clinics in Dublin this year as part of the development of a comprehensive network of services.
It is important to be able to treat drug misusers in their own community as far as possible. To this end, general practitioners are being encouraged to take on responsibility for the treatment of drug misusers, including the provision of methadone. At present, about 240 further patients are on methadone maintenance with general practitioners. The availability of detoxification facilities is essential. The ten bed unit in Beaumont Hospital has been under pressure and a waiting list has developed. Again, the Minister, Deputy Noonan, is anxious to address this situation and the Eastern Health Board will, in the near future, be commissioning a ten bed unit at Cherry Orchard Hospital. I understand that unit will be available shortly.
In the time available to me today, I have sought to deal as comprehensively as possible with the problem of drugs. In finishing let me say I have no illusions about the problem. This is an extremely serious problem for our society to tackle. I believe that the Government's approach, tackling all the components of the problem, is the only way to proceed. There is no simple answer unfortunately. For my part I can assure Senators that I will do everything within my power as Minister for Justice to see to it that the law is enforced in a strict and sustained manner and that the issue is dealt with in a comprehensive multi-agency manner in co-operation with my ministerial colleagues on both the demand and the supply side of this deadly menace.
I am happy to support the motion and will have no difficulty voting for it in preference to the amendment which simply seems to specify some small area of detail. I would want further areas of detail if I was going to be that specific.
There is no question about the existence of a drugs problem. Ireland is not alone and we cannot isolate ourselves from it. I am on record in this House as stating that it is my belief that until the economic base of the world drug problem is tackled, we will not be in a position to stabilise the situation at all. Ultimately that means deregulation. I strongly believe that until the market motive is removed from the main suppliers of drugs, such as heroin, we will be left with this problem.
The Minister referred to the Criminal Justice Act, 1994. I welcome her clear commitment that sections 32 and 57 will come into operation on 2 May. I remember that Bill going through the House. It deals with the laundering of drug money. May I express some surprise that there was no reference in the Minister's speech to another development which has taken place at the instigation of a person from my constituency, one of my local representatives, Deputy Gregory? I commend Deputy Gregory's on the ground expertise to the Minister. I hope it will be taken into account in the framing of proposals to combat the drugs war.
May I place this in context by saying I have been rereading some information about the drugs problem? I note that in 1987 the then Minister for Health totally dismissed the use of methadone maintenance programmes, free needle exchange and condoms. On the very same day the national AIDS co-ordinator, Dr. James Walsh for whom I have the highest respect, was calling for precisely those things. It indicates how important it is for the Minister with responsibility in this area to keep the very closest liaison with people on the ground.
The proposal made by Deputy Gregory was for a co-ordinated task force. It was not precisely the one mentioned in the debate this evening. Deputy Gregory was referring to co-ordination between the Garda, the Revenue Commissioners and the social welfare agencies. I know of persons in my area who are involved in the heroin trade and making profits, untaxed obviously, of up to £50,000 a week. They are also collecting social welfare and acquiring property. The Garda know precisely who they are. Why is there no co-ordination of information between the gardaí, the Revenue Commissioners and the Department of Social Welfare so that these people can be isolated and those very provisions to which the Minister referred brought into operation?
I heard Senator Mulcahy's reference to The Irish Times editorial. I agree with the Minister that this problem did not start on 15 December and whatever castigation of Government is involved in this editorial extends equally to Governments over a period of some considerable number of years. One of the points made in the editorial is that it is essential to prioritise the battle against drugs. On this basis, the periodic discoveries of cannabis, the court cases involving people caught smoking cannabis and so on are — to coin an inappropriate phrase — nothing more than a smoke screen. If we were honest we would see that the real problem is not cannabis. I would openly advocate in this House the legalisation of cannabis and the diversion of all the resources of the gardaí to where the real problem is and that is heroin.
I live in the north inner city and I am aware of the increased levels of crime. They do not come from the smoking of hash; they come from the seriously addictive opiate, heroin. There are people with heroin habits which cost enormous amounts of money to sustain and it is these people who are driven into crime to feed that habit. Although the methadone maintenance programme is in existence and apparently will be expanded, it is by no means satisfactory at the moment. If a heroin addict applies for admission to this programme and is told to wait for a year, during that year he or she will commit further aggravated assaults, burglaries, robberies and so on. A fundamental plank of any attack on this problem should be the expansion of the methadone maintenance programme to the point where it meets the requirements of the situation. That is not what obtains at present.
There is a very serious drugs problem within the prison system. I wonder if the Minister can do anything about this. My information is that young offenders go into prison clean and, in the prison, are introduced to addictive drugs. That is a serious comment on our penal system. People can go in for house breaking, larceny or whatever and while in prison, far from being rehabilitated, are actually put on the needle and sent out again.
The Minister knows I have problem which I hope to discuss with her concerning the open female prison it is proposed to locate in Parnell Street. I say this not because of any prejudice of my own or a NIMBY syndrome — not in my back yard — but because I have been approached by many people in my area. These include the ordinary people from Gardiner Street and Summerhill and business people, including one businessman who was brought up in Summerhill in very poor circumstances and who has created a business. They tell me that the net effect will be that the open prison will act as a magnet, right into the north side of the city particularly the Parnell Street area, for those trying to sell drugs to these unfortunate people. If this institution goes ahead, I hope there will be maximum policing to prevent this occurring. The north side of Dublin has been deprived of many institutions over the past number of years. It comes as an unwelcome surprise that the only time we get an institution, it is something that is virtually calculated to reinforce the drugs problem that exists in this area of the city.
There are several problems with regard to the importation of drugs. One is the importation of drugs for consumption in this country and the other is the use of the country as a transit for hard drugs. My advocacy of deregulation cannot take place in isolation. We must get additional resources to help combat the problem of drugs in transit through this country.
I return to my strong feeling that the principal problem is not cannabis. If we spend our time talking about cannabis we are simply deluding ourselves and providing a type of cosmetic exercise which comforts people. They feel the drug situation is under control because so many kilos of cannabis have been seized. I do not find that particularly comforting because I know, and I am sure the Minister also recognises, that the real problem is not cannabis but heroin.
I welcome the Minister's commitment to the House that she will soon put proposals to Government for the establishment of a national bureau of fraud investigation, which, she says, will be a further weapon in targeting the disposal of the proceeds of crime. I assume and perhaps the Minister will indicate to the House that this will tackle far wider problems that just the question of the misuse of drugs and the proceeds of drug trafficking.
There have been a number of serious cases in recent years where because we did not have the technical resources in this State, people were allowed to escape the consequences of their fraudulent behaviour. There was one notorious case in recent years where somebody who had committed fraud in the Republic had to be charged in the North of Ireland. I welcome the establishment of a national bureau of fraud investigation and I hope it will extend beyond merely the question of drugs. I do not in any sense see drugs as anything other than a very serious problem. However, the fraud bureau should be more widely based.
Regarding the composition of any task force on drugs, the nature of which I have suggested, perhaps the Minister might consider including persons such as Deputy Tony Gregory and Mr. Seanie Lambe from Sheriff Street, who has done remarkable work in the area of drugs. These are the people on the streets who know what the problem involves. I quote from a report on drugs which indicates quite clearly where the problem is concentrated:
Those affected are mainly young people, unemployed, with poor educational needs. They live mostly in local authority flat complexes in the inner city and suburban local authority housing estates. Ireland's intravenous drug problem is concentrated in these areas.
For this reason, it is very important to involve the people on the ground who know precisely what the situation entails.
I wish to refer to a letter I received five years ago in which a series of points were made. I ask the Minister how much of this has been done. The letter was from the director of the Anna Livia Drugs Project:
The problem of illicit drug use is concentrated in a small number of Dublin areas. For this reason such resources that are available for tackling this problem should be concentrated in those same areas. [To an extent, the Minister has already answered this.] In each Dublin area where illicit drugs use is prevalent, a community drug team should be set up. Such teams consisting of drug treatment and community health personnel, including doctors, nurses and social workers, should take direct responsibility for the local management of the drug problem within the areas in which they are located.
3. A wider range of drug treatments, including harm reduction, methadone maintenance and an expanded number of drug free therapies, need to be offered to drug users within a developed community based service.
4. A senior management position of drugs co-ordinator needs to based in the Eastern Health Board area.
The Senator is slightly over his time.
May I just finish the paragraph?
Yes.
There are just two more points.
That is another stroke.
The letter continues:
5. A permanent budget needs to be made available to the Eastern Health Board to ensure the provision of an effective long term range of drug treatment services.
6. The national co-ordinating committee on drug abuse needs to be constituted as a statutory agency with executive responsibilities in the areas of research, policy development, public awareness and advising Government with a budget appropriate to its function.
As Senator Magner said, more strokes. May I ask the Senator before he leaves the House to give to the Minister the details of the report to which he referred?
Certainly.
I wish to share my time with Senator Magner.
Is that agreed? Agreed.
Fianna Fáil's position this evening is rather facetious, given that three months ago the former Minister for Justice, Deputy Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, received an excellent response from Senators on all sides regarding the fight against drugs. At that time she mentioned the crime fighting package she had produced, which met with approval on all sides. It is rather facetious of Senator Mulcahy to come into the House this evening and attack the Minister when there have been 13 drug seizures in the past three months. This is probably the highest number of seizures in any three month period in the history of the State.
The drugs problem is not confined to Dublin. It is also a problem in rural areas. There is not a town or village in Ireland where drugs are not available. This is why the fight against drugs must be kept going at both local and national levels. In 1992, in County Donegal, 28 people were arrested and charged with drug offences. This indicates that drugs are also a problem in rural areas. I congratulate the Garda and customs officials on the seizures they made in the last number of weeks. This shows that these two groups are working very well together. I also commend the Fine Gael group for putting down this motion.
I wish to deal with the situation regarding the north-west coast. This area requires increased surveillance. Seizures have been made in Dublin and Cork, but there is much concern about the north-west coast. There is a number of large fishing ports in this area into which many foreign boats come on a regular basis. Derry has a main commercial port and a number of major shipping and boat companies operate from there. It is wide open in terms of drugs.
Now that the peace process has come about, increased surveillance is required on the Derry-Donegal border. A large number of major arrests have been made recently in this area in relation to drugs being brought across the Border. The owner of an establishment on the Donegal side of the Border was recently found guilty and sentenced to three years imprisonment for allowing his premises to be used for drugs. Rave parties were held there on a regular basis. The decision of the court in that case is to be welcomed. Anybody who went to those rave parties could tell one that drugs were openly on sale. Ecstasy was available on a regular basis, but five or six different types of drugs were also available. The people most prominently involved in the selling of these drugs were the paramilitaries. They are still doing this in Northern Ireland and they continue to bring their stuff across the Border. Many of them have made much money from drugs and they will continue to do so because it is a very lucrative business.
I heard a girl on the radio a number of days ago talking about how she started on Ecstasy. She had a child and was bored, etc. She found that Ecstasy gave her a high, but it got so bad that she had to take heroin to bring herself down from it. She said she needed to do this as it was the only way she could survive. However, she ultimately sought help, which she discovered was available from the health authorities. I commend the health boards on the work they do in relation to helping people with serious addiction problems. They are very well geared for such work, but better facilities should be available. Nevertheless, the boards do an excellent job.
Regarding the number of gardaí in Border areas, I emphasise the fact that the peace process is now in place. We in County Donegal and others in Border counties intend to push strongly for the current number of gardaí to be retained. It will not cost any more to keep them there, now that the peace process has come into play. I recently moved a motion at Donegal County Council calling for the retention of the gardaí. I also called for increased surveillance of the Donegal coast. The county has one of the longest coastlines in the country. Given that Donegal is so near to Northern Ireland and that ships come on a regular basis from Scotland, which is approximately ten miles from Northern Ireland, the county is wide open in terms of drugs. We have every reason to fear what might happen along the north-west coastline.
We cannot underestimate the determination of the drug barons. They are making huge profits from human misery and we must do everything possible to meet the challenge. I call on the Minister to once again examine the possibility of increasing the number of gardaí involved in the fight against drugs on the north-west coast.
I congratulated the former Minister for Justice, Deputy Geoghegan-Quinn, on her appointment for a number of reasons, not least that it was the first time a woman had taken the portfolio, and I thought a woman would bring to it qualities of compassion and toughness that it needed. In the same vein I say to the Minister, Deputy Owen, that the Government took the same view in relation to the portfolio and put somebody as competent as her in the job.
The drugs war is real, but the war in the House tonight is a phoney. I do not know who dreamed up this Fianna Fáil amendment. They can play games with what they like, but they should accept the reality on some topics. Fianna Fáil have tabled an amendment to the motion and if the amendment is not accepted there will be a division. Such situations bring politics into disrepute. The motion states:
That Seanad Éireann commends the security forces on their recent drugs hauls; and urges the Government to give the most urgent attention and the fullest possible resources to the implementation of an integrated attack on the drugs problem at all levels.
Nobody in their sane senses would disagree with that. How, therefore, would one amend it if one wanted to play games? One would amend it as follows:
To delete all words after "hauls;", and substitute the following:
"and calls on the Government to
(a) provide adequate resources to the Garda, the Navy and the Customs and Excise;
(b) publish the O'Donnell report regarding the co-ordination of the aforementioned authorities;
(c) establish a National Drugs Enforcement Agency; and
(d) highlight the horrendous drug trafficking problem in this country at European Union level, with a view to securing European funding to help combat this problem."
Fianna Fáil now has a problem. The financial strategy of the budget was laid out by Fianna Fáil and Labour and was handed on to this Administration. The allocations to the Army, Navy and Garda were laid down by the Fianna Fáil and Labour coalition Government. In that sense this is a phoney amendment.
Fianna Fáil and everybody else have a duty to raise the issue of the drugs problem and nobody should take it easy on the Government or on Ministers. However, if this is forced to a vote it will demonstrate the salient fact that games which should not be played in this House are being played. My colleagues in Fianna Fáil, with whom I served with honour and dignity and they with me, would want to reconsider their tactic on this issue.
I listened with attention to Senator Mulcahy and, quite frankly, his was a mealy-mouthed contribution. In essence, he wanted the Minister in only three months to build more ships, set up a coastguard, expand the Army and Navy and develop the Air Corps. I thought Deputy Geoghegan-Quinn a good operator, but not even she could tackle all those problems in the timescale Senator Mulcahy demands of the Minister, Deputy Owen. In that sense we have another part of the phoney battle that Senator Mulcahy, in particular, waged. Senator Wright and others put forward reasonable points and the Minister responded reasonably. Senator Mulcahy finished every remark by asking "What have you done about that?". If that is not phoney and playing games, what is?
We live on an island; we are surrounded by water. It is, therefore, a haven for every ship that passes. I remember an Appledore report on Verolme Dockyard which said that about 28,000 ships a year passed off the Cork coast. Can one imagine the number of ships that pass off the entire coast? Apparently, the Minister is supposed to spot every single one and check them for drugs. It is a nonsense.
There is, of course, a serious drug problem — deadly serious in Dublin — but the country is not awash with drugs. I was looking at statistics from the 1992 Garda Síochána report on crime — I do not know if there are more up to date figures — and they gave a total of 3,494 persons charged in 1992, and of that number 2,643 were charged with the possession of cannabis resin. I do not wish to portray a liberal attitude to any drug, hard or soft, but the problem should be put in context. A total of 91 people were charged with possession of heroin in 1992.
Senator, your time is up.
Give me the same latitude as you gave Senator Mulcahy and Senator Norris. We are all old friends here.
You have nearly got it Senator.
One has always to accept the points put forward by the Opposition and my party has occupied that role more often than most. However, this is not an amendment to a motion that ought to be put to a vote under any pretext. I will leave it to my colleagues' good sense to pursue a more reasonable course of action, as I am sure they will.
I welcome the Minister to the House. It is good to meet the Minister in this House having worked with her at another forum. I wish her well.
I would take issue with the suggestion that my colleagues and I would play games on this matter. I take umbrage at the suggestion. The drug problem is huge and we have had it for the last 20 years. Previous Administrations have tackled it, especially in the early 1980s, when the problem was very serious in the Dublin area and we thought we had confronted the problem. However, there is no confidence in that among the public. As a teacher, I speak to parents, and other teachers and they express great concern about the abuse of illegal and unacceptable drugs. They are looking for support and ways to stamp out this problem.
It is perceived that there is a laid back approach to the drugs problem, particularly with the seizures of the last couple of weeks, which created unrest in themselves. We are not playing games. There is a real lack of confidence in the present Administration as to what the policy is. What has been happening? I can understand that the Minister has had to follow a very successful previous Minister, but we do not have time for transitions. We have to get to work on the problem, although I know the Minister is overshadowed by her predecessor. However, I do not hold that against her.
Really; come on.
Says who?
We are looking for proposals, for an integrated approach.
She was nearly responsible for bringing down the last Government.
I am concerned at the lack of policy coming on stream. We must look at the drug barons because they are the source of the problem. We must stop pretending the problem does not exist and stop looking for quick fixes and simple solutions. We need a long-term approach to this multifaceted problem. The Minister said she is working on policy and I agree with all the theory in her speech — I agree with everything she said. Nobody would dispute the theory, but we are looking for action now.
Did the Senator listen to the speech?
I did and I have no difficulty with the theory.
There is lots of action outlined in the speech.
It is all there to be read.
I am asking for immediate action.
I do not want a quick fix solution or immediate action.
I am looking for it. The problem is so serious that we need resources straight away.
There is action every day.
It is theory; I do not see the action.
Twenty five million pounds.
The Misuse of Drugs Acts, 1977 and 1984, state that possession of a controlled drug is a primary offence, but it has not stopped the flood of drugs into the country or prevented thousands of young people becoming addicts. It is time for a new policy to attack the evil of drugs. The use of controlled drugs must be made a criminal offence. We are aware of the knock-on effects of drugs since much of our crime is drug related as addicts steal and assault to feed their habit. I am aware of the effect of drugs on users and their families. It may be a cliché but it cannot be said often enough — drugs destroy lives. They eat at the fabric of our community. I ask the Minister to review this legislation and criminalise the taking of drugs.
The hauls of cannabis and Ecstasy indicate how vulnerable Ireland is to drug barons and how exposed is our coastline. We must take measures in that regard; I recognise that the Minister referred to our coastline in her speech. These hauls highlight the need for new legislative measures and powers of enforcement to ensure that this country is equipped to effectively combat the menace of drugs. In the past we saw drug barons use the profits from their crimes to keep them and their families in the lap of luxury far removed from the abject misery of their victims.
A response is needed at international, national and community levels. The Government, the Departments of Education and Health, the community agencies, families and schools have a mutual responsibility in the area of drug prevention. We all have a role to play but the Government must take full responsibility and tackle this huge problem. I recommend a national agency which would bring about an integrated approach.
May I share my time with Senator Wall?
Is that agreed? Agreed.
I welcome the Minister to the House; I do not doubt her sincerity in this matter. In commending the security forces on the drugs haul, we must be conscious that the weekend seizure represents only the tip of the drug iceberg which threatens to swamp our towns and cities. We faced a drugs epidemic in the 1980s and we must step up our efforts to stop drug imports.
We must also bear in mind that drug barons would go out of business if there was no demand for drugs. Until we tackle the cause of drug abuse, our security forces will continue to divert resources to fighting drug smuggling. We will never be able to intercept all drugs because profit is a powerful motivator and drug barons will continue to invent new drugs and ways of smuggling them into the country.
There is an urgent need for an integrated approach which would break the vicious cycle of poverty, crime and drugs. Last year the drug treatment centre indicated that 80 per cent of drug abusers seen at the centre were unemployed and lacked any formal qualifications. We have always argued for a preventative rather than a fire brigade approach to the problem of drug abuse and drug related crime. In order to be effective, preventative measures must be taken at the lowest level. In this regard, I welcome the Government's community based approach reflected not only in the community drugs team but also in the Government programme commitment to the extension of community policing.
Recently I attended a meeting in my local town in north Cork where I saw the need for an integrated approach involving gardaí, parents and teachers. Perhaps there could be a pilot scheme in an area. People in towns and villages are conscious of this problem and want to do something about it. Given the high incidence of drug related crime, drug users should not be released from prison without being provided with the necessary treatment or being put in contact with a methadone maintenance programme.
The security forces are doing an outstanding job in combating drug smugglers with few resources, but I am aware of cases where officers were pulled from drug squads to serve in other areas. There could be increased co-operation between the Garda and customs officials; there is evidence of such co-operation in my county and it has been very effective.
I have no doubt the Minister's commitment to remove drugs from Ireland will benefit families who suffer because a family member is a drug addict. I was delighted the Minister referred to the Departments of Health, Justice and Education. A prepared programme for secondary schools and third level institutions should be implemented by the Department of Justice. We must start the battle in our schools. While it is easy to say that we must remove the drug barons, we must make each child aware of the torment they will cause their families if they become a drug addict.
I hope the Minister will implement an educational programme. We must educate our children on the dangers of drugs and ensure that teachers and gardaí in small rural towns and villages are made aware of the drugs scene. That can only be done through an educational programme, which will take more than the three months Members spoke about. The Minister's commitment to remove drugs from Ireland will benefit family life in Ireland.
The Minister seems to have become very fond of the House. I congratulate those involved in the successful drugs find. I congratulate the Minister on her speech tonight, which impressed me.
I will concentrate on inter-agency co-operation. In the best management of a business, there is always concern about co-operation. It appears that co-operation is needed between three different agencies: the National Drugs Administration Office reports to the Department of Justice, the national customs drug office reports to the Department of Finance, while the Defence Forces report to the Department of Defence.
The Minister spoke about the need for co-ordination between the various law enforcement agencies. She said the main task of the report is to identify the best arrangements for achieving a cohesive and co-ordinated response to the drug trafficking problems. Because of the need for fewer customs officers as a result of the integrated Europe, a drugs unit was set up within the customs service. A sensible solution was found by putting surplus officers to work in the drugs area. Because of their background and training, the main aim of customs officers is through stop contraband coming in to our ports and to seize these goods. Their main aims, traditions and, perhaps, promotional opportunities are based to a very large extent on how successful they are at this. The main aim of the Garda and other law enforcement agencies — it was interesting to hear many speakers talk about the objective of trying to apprehend drug barons — is not necessarily to stop drugs at ports but to follow them so that the drug barons can be found.
On occasions there may well be a difference of emphasis between the different agencies. The Minister has recognised this and has talked about why she and the previous Minister, Deputy Geoghegan-Quinn, did not believe that a national drugs enforcement agency was likely to be the correct direction in which to go. Therefore, it is suggested that the solution lies in the effectiveness of the existing law agencies and the Minister is going to come up with that solution.
I urge the Minister not to fudge this by trying to please all parties. The big danger is if we make sure that those reporting to the Departments of Finance, Justice and Defence are all happy. It is happened on occasions in the past that there have been almost fudged solutions in the form of committees and rotating chairmanships. The solution has to be in reporting to the Department of Justice. This Department must be in charge of the matter. A solution has to be found which will make sure that all the agencies are co-ordinated under one heading with one objective, and that objective should be the effectiveness of the law enforcement agencies. I urge the Minister, when looking for a solution, to aim in that direction rather than fudge the issue in some other way.
I am encouraged by the Minister's recent comments on the bail laws, which I believe were correct. I mentioned this issue a few weeks before the Minister raised it. A change in our bail laws will require a referendum. This will present problems and will not be an easy solution. I urge the Minister to continue to strive to find that solution and present it to us so that we as a nation will have to make a decision. Drug barons are released on bail because we do not have bail laws which are able to incarcerate them when we have enough apparent evidence to hold them. We should, therefore, make sure we have the correct constitutional changes to enable us to incarcerate them.
I urge the Minister to take into account the points I raised about cooperation between agencies and about the bail laws and to continue on the road she has already taken.
May I share my time with Senator Doyle?
An Leas-Chathaoirleach
Is that agreed? Agreed.
I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion. The Garda and the customs service must be complimented on the work they have done in recent weeks, in particular the seizure of many of the drugs coming into the country. I welcome the Minister and commend her on her speech.
I believe the Fianna Fáil amendment is redundant. The Minister stated that the Garda drugs squad is fully supported by the Government and it has active units thoughout Dublin city and the rest of the country. The situation is constantly being monitored and reviewed. It is evident from the Minister's speech that she and Government fully recognise the seriousness of the drugs problem and its effect on communities and society and, in particular, on the families concerned. Families in which there are drug addicts experience huge problems. I welcome the Minister's commencement order to bring sections 32 and 57 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1994, into operation on 2 May next. This is extremely important and the Minister must be commended for acting so quickly on this.
The drugs barons, who arrange the supply of drugs, are a major source of the problem. If they can be hindered and arrested and their properties and moneys confiscated, the Minister will be making a very serious effort to deal with the problem. I welcome that she will shortly propose to the Government the establishment of a national bureau of fraud investigation. She has been considering this since her appointment and I look forward to her announcement on the details of this.
A number of aspects need additional consideration. I was delighted that at the weekend the Taoiseach made an announcement that the Government will seek from the EU the establishment of a European coastguard to monitor our coast. This was mooted over six or seven years ago. Fianna Fáil was in Government for this period. What did it do about the issue at European level? The Government should make a strong case for this coastguard to be based in Ireland because of our extensive coastline. The variety of inlets, bays and coves around our entire coast need very close monitoring.
The Minister is actively considering an aerial wing for the Garda and there is merit in this. The Navy has acted very well in many areas and can do more. This is a matter for the Minister for Defence to consider.
Our fishermen should be encouraged to be on the alert for any unusual boating or shipping activities in their areas. A skipper from Carrigaholt, County Clare, Mr Joe Asten, was some years ago of great assistance in detecting a major drugs haul on a boat off the coast of south-west Clare and west Kerry. Skippers should be complimented for the work they quietly do along our coastline.
The establishment of the European drugs unit is important because the abolition of customs posts in 1993 resulted in a major breakdown in the system. Drug barons and traffickers do not appreciate any type of boundaries. The establishment of this unit and Garda involvement in it are extremely important. With Interpol it can work very effectively towards overcoming the drugs problem.
In view of what the Minister has said, the Opposition amendment is redundant. It calls on the Government to "provide adequate resources to the Garda, the Navy and the Customs and Excise". The Government is doing this. The amendment calls on the Government to "publish the O'Donnell report regarding the co-ordination of the aforementioned authorities". A report is being prepared in the Minister's Department. She has clearly explained to the House that Fianna Fáil in Government up to three months ago did not agree with the establishment of a national drugs enforcement agency. The previous Minister felt that was not the right approach to take. Fianna Fáil should look at their own policy if they proceed in pushing this amendment. The Opposition should withdraw their amendment because it is redundant.
I congratulate the Minister, the Garda and the Customs and Excise on their recent success. The Garda has had a very good run of successes in recent times; long may it continue.
With regard to the treatment of drug misusers, I know there are different views on the methadone treatment, but I have seen heroin addicts being weaned off the drug by methadone. When I spoke here in January on the health aspect of this, there were three satellite clinics which have not been increased since. Over 100 people per day attend these clinics and I think it is unreasonable to ask the clinics in Amiens Street, Baggot Street and Ballyfermot to look after the problem for all of Dublin. Each catchment area should look after its own drug misusers.
I ask the Minister to use her influence with the public. Our problem in the Eastern Health Board is not finance — as the Minister said, the finance is available — but to get the public to accept these clinics in their areas. I hope that this debate will help to educate the public that it is very important for local clinics to be set up to deal with people who have this problem. When people are treated with methadone in these clinics, it is possible under the new Protocol for their own GPs to carry on the good work. It is essential that we have two extra satellite clinics.
Ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh an Aire go dtí an Teach seo. Is é mo thuairim go bhfuil obair chrua, mhór, dheacair roimpi. The Minister has difficult, hard work ahead of her. I wish to pay tribute to her predecessor and I am sure that both of them will go down in history as two great Ministers for Justice.
Thank you.
For the past 20 years the abuse of drugs and drink has been a concern of mine. I believe that 70 per cent of our social problems are as a result of the abuse of those two demons. We have reached the stage where we have no go areas in this city; an ambassador's wife was mugged recently. That is very bad for tourism and for the country.
I played golf recently with a detective sergeant who said to me that if every man in the force was taken off road traffic duties and so on and put to work on crime for 12 months, much of the crime would be reduced. Previous Ministers appointed traffic wardens and civilians to Garda barracks in order to have more gardaí on the beat, but the criminals are keeping ahead of the posse. Something drastic must be done.
There should be compulsory Army service for juvenile offenders and homeless youth — not to punish them but to train them and teach them respect. We have an excellent Army which is well capable of doing that. It would not cost us any extra money. If those young hooligans were put into the Army for two years they would get some training, education and, above all, discipline. Unfortunately, since the do-gooder society began, we have done away with two very important words — discipline and respect. When there is no discipline or respect; there is anarchy. We are now reaching the stage of survival of the fittest and a tribe mentality. Old people are being robbed for drugs and drink. In this city old people cannot go up to communion without bringing their bags with them and they are still liable to be robbed going up or down the aisle. We must do something serious about this situation.
Senator Norris referred to drugs in prisons, which is true. If we cannot keep drugs out of prisons, how can we keep them out of Ireland? According to the media, university students are making money by selling drugs. If university standards are dropping to this degree and if this is what students are learning there, it is not a very good training in entrepreneurship.
The Senator should not have said that they were dropping to a degree.
An Leas-Chathaoirleach
Senator Farrell, without interruption.
Maybe I should not have, but my message was understood. Have we lost control of our schools? Teenagers who go to discos tell me that they know exactly where to get drugs, it is not a big secret. Why is the Garda not able to catch the criminals who are selling drugs? They tell me that they do not want to catch the small operators but the godfathers. However, if the market is cut at that point and enough of the small operators are removed, the big operators will soon be caught. They should start at the easiest point rather than the most difficult one. That would do a great deal to put an end to the drug problem.
We have created a drug culture, because everybody who goes to see a doctor gets a handful of drugs. I have constantly warned people that that is the most dangerous thing that they could do, because many people are now becoming immune to drugs. I had a fairly serious accident and I was discharged after ten days. I was told that I had good healing powers, but I never took drugs in my life and I would not take an aspirin unless I was reeling with a pain in my head.
As long as you keep pushing votes we will be on valium.
This drug culture is costing the country millions of pounds. I do not doubt that many of those drugs are being mixed with illegal drugs such as cocaine in order to make them more plentiful.
I know that there is no quick answer to combating this problem but it is sad that this whole culture has been created in 25 years. Why has it happened? Those who went before us had a good system which we tried to improve. We took discipline out of schools and now a teacher cannot look at a child; the teachers are now suffering from depression and fatigue.
The Minister should consider community policing. It would not cost a great deal of money and county councils could levy a service charge to make it self-financing. I believe that people living in towns and business people would gladly pay £50 or £100 a year. Towns should be patrolled from 2 a.m. until 6 a.m. because the majority of crimes are committed between those hours.
I thank those who contributed to the debate and I have no doubt about the sincerity of the contributions.
Some of the contributions.
I will deal with them. I commend the Minister on her contribution. It is quite clear from the positive aspect and the detail of her speech that she is taking this issue very seriously. She has initiated a programme which is designed to counteract and deal with the problem and reduce the escalation in the level of drug abuse.
I do not agree with Senator Mulcahy that the motion smacks of complacency. It is a very serious motion; and for the main Government party to urge the Government "to give the most urgent attention and the fullest possible resources to the implementation of an integrated attack on the drugs problem at all levels" is a very serious approach to ensure that the issue is dealt with seriously and that we support our Minister in obtaining all the resources she needs to tackle this problem. One must be conscious of the tensions within the Cabinet for resources from all sides. However, we support the Minister on this issue and are happy with her intentions as outlined in her speech.
Senator Mulcahy referred to the waiting lists and the difficulties in the Dublin area. This problem was comprehensively addressed in the House on 25 January 1995 by the Minister for Health, Deputy Noonan, when he outlined in specific detail the steps he was undertaking and those which he proposed to undertake. I, therefore, refer the Senator to the Minister's contribution on that date and he will find that some of the Minister's proposals were implemented in early February 1995. Measures will continue to be implemented to deal with this problem.
Senator Doyle made a good point when he said it is important that the communities concerned accept that this issue must be addressed, that the relevant clinics must be established to deal with the problem and that these communities should see this as a positive development rather than as a negative reflection on them.
The first part of the amendment calls on the Government to "provide adequate resources to the Garda, the Navy, and the Customs and Excise". This is similar to the content of our motion, but worded differently, and we support it. The Minister has asked for details of the O'Donnell report. I am not aware of such a report.
I am aware of such a report and referred to it in my speech. It was the use of the title, "O'Donnell report", which I questioned, because a number of officials in my Department have been working on the report.
Has the report a title?
Senator Neville was wrong.
There was no report entitled the "O'Donnell report" which the Senator's amendment requests be published.
Call it the Roche report.
An Leas-Chathaoirleach
It is most unusual to refer to officials in the House. I ask Senator Neville to conclude.
Regarding the call for the establishment of a drug enforcement agency, no western European country has followed the example of the USA in establishing such an agency. In this instance we must not ape the Americans because they have failed dismally in this area. The whole issue of drug abuse is a very serious problem in the USA and it has not been tackled. Given the existence of a national police force and a national customs service, the likely effect of introducing a special drug enforcement agency would be to complicate and fragment the response of the authorities to drug enforcement rather than uniting it, and such an agency would not solve the problem. We, therefore, are unable to accept this part of the amendment.
On a point of order, do I have the right of reply as proposer of the amendment?
An Leas-Chathaoirleach
No; the proposer of the motion has the right to reply.
For the record, I believe that is unfair.
An Leas-Chathaoirleach
That is not a point of order.
It is a point of order.
An Leas-Chathaoirleach
Senator, if you have difficulty with Standing Orders you should take up the matter with your representatives on the Committee on Procedure and Privileges.
The Senator should obey the Chair.
Amendment put.
The Seanad divided: Tá, 16; Níl, 27.
Tá
- Bohan, Eddie.
- Daly, Brendan.
- Farrell, Willie.
- Finneran, Michael.
- Kelleher, Billy.
- Kiely, Dan.
- Lanigan, Mick.
- Lydon, Don.
- McGennis, Marian.
- Mulcahy, Michael.
- Mullooly, Brian.
- O'Brien, Francis.
- O'Kennedy, Michael.
- Ormonde, Ann.
- Roche, Dick.
- Wright, G.V.
Níl
- Belton, Louis J.
- Calnan, Michael.
- Cashin, Bill.
- Cosgrave, Liam.
- Cotter, Bill.
- D'Arcy, Michael.
- Dardis, John.
- Doyle, Joe.
- Enright, Thomas W.
- Farrelly, John V.
- Gallagher, Ann.
- Howard, Michael.
- Kelly, Mary.
- Lee, Joe.
- McDonagh, Jarlath.
- Magner, Pat.
- Maloney, Sean.
- Manning, Maurice.
- Neville, Daniel.
- Norris, David.
- O'Sullivan, Jan.
- Quinn, Feargal.
- Reynolds, Gerry.
- Ross, Shane P.N.
- Taylor-Quinn, Madeleine.
- Townsend, Jim.
- Wall, Jack.
Tellers: Tá, Senators Mullooly and Roche; Níl, Senators Cosgrave and Magner.
Amendment declared lost.
Question: "That the motion be agreed to", put and declared carried.
An Leas-Chathaoirleach
When is it proposed to sit again?
It is proposed to sit tomorrow at 10.30 a.m.