Drugs policy reform
Deputy Kenny urges action on the Joint Committee on Drugs Use interim report and says there is political consensus for a new approach. The Taoiseach says he will read the report and agrees the next Dáil should make progress, though views differ on the detail.
The Joint Committee on Drugs Use published its interim report yesterday. There will be a general election in the next few weeks so this is essentially its final report. This has been a very good committee. It has been very important in looking at different models of drugs policy and saving lives. This is the most important thing. The committee took into account the recommendations of the citizens' assembly as well as our own. There is political consensus on this. There are a variety of views, but many people have shifted their opinion in respect of how we got it wrong in the past. People will ask what is next. We have had the citizens' assembly and this very integral report, where there is consensus on doing things differently and on what we can do differently. If the Taoiseach is in the Government the next time, what does he plan to do about implementing this report?
Comment on this
I sincerely acknowledge the Deputy's work and his strength of feeling on this. Even though we do not always agree on every element of it, I fully acknowledge he is motivated by a sense of wanting to save lives and help people. I thank him for the work he has done on that.
The first thing I will do is read the report, which I have not done. All of us, during the general election, need to outline clearly what we intend to do in terms of next steps. The next Dáil should try to make real progress on this. The Deputy and I may have different views on this, but sometimes the debate becomes narrowed down to the issue of decriminalisation. There is a broader debate around a health-led approach and health interventions that can be made to help people. There is a very big difference between somebody with an addiction who needs a bit of help, and somebody who is perhaps more casually using drugs on a Saturday night out in the local pub. We need to understand, from a policy point of view, how to differentiate between the two.