Minister for Education Mary Hanafin has voiced her opposition to random drug testing of second-level pupils.
Some private fee-paying schools in Dublin have moved in recent years to introduce drug testing, but this approach is not recommended in new Department of Education guidelines on substance abuse, published yesterday. The new guidelines also oppose the expulsion of students found to be in possession of drugs.
This, the department says, "can have the effect of alienating a student from mainstream sources of help and may result in this student becoming more involved in the culture of drug misuse".
Last night Ms Hanafin said her department would not be in favour of the introduction of student drug testing.
She favoured an alternative approach which "emphasises education, discussion, counselling, extra-curricular activities and the building of trust between students and adults."
Two Dublin schools - St Andrew's in Booterstown and Sutton Park in north Dublin - have adopted a more interventionist approach in recent years.
In St Andrew's, if a student is known to have taken drugs inside or outside the school, he or she is consulted on the matter and asked, in consultation with parents, to take a test. The school stresses that the drug tests are not mandatory. Students are invited to take the test in order to enact a support programme, if the test proves positive.
Sutton Park is the only other school that administers drug tests as a matter of policy.
The new department guidelines on drugs and other substance abuse advises schools to strike the best balance between "a pastoral and a disciplinary response. An appropriate pastoral response to an incident involving alcohol, tobacco and drug use may include referral to a support agency", it says.
The new policy template is intended to help guide schools but boards of management are free to implement their own policies.
Earlier this year, Ms Hanafin told the Dáil there was "no conclusive evidence that drug testing reduces the incidence of drug misuse among young people".
The guidelines advise all schools to have clear policies in place on drugs abuse. "It is advisable that schools clarify their position regarding reports to them concerning use and/or supply of illegal drugs off the school premises. The school policy should inform teachers about issues relating to confidentiality and appropriate reporting procedures. It should also clarify an agreed procedure for involving parents/ guardians, liaising with Garda and responding to media inquiries."
Random drug testing is standard procedure in schools in the US. Last year, a school in Kent became the first state school in Britain to administer random drug testing. Ten students are chosen at random each week to give mouth swabs which are then sent for examination.