"THERE must be an awful lot of drugs millionaires in this country", Dr Mary Henry (Ind) told the House. People were not just making thousands of pounds from selling drugs, they were making millions. The profits from heroin alone were at least £175 million, she maintained.
"If we just look at the 7,000 heroin addicts - which is one of the estimated statistics - and consider that they are spending a minimum of £700 a week on the drug, that comes close to £175 million a year. I do not know the cost of buying heroin abroad, the freight charges or the money paid to dealers, but we can be assured that we are talking about huge profits for a lot of people.
"And that is only in heroin, it is not taking the many other drugs into account. We must not underestimate the so called soft drugs like cannabis and ecstasy and prescribed drugs."
Dr Henry was speaking on "Statements on the Minister for Health's range of comprehensive measures designed to reduce the demand for drugs".
In his opening address, the Minister for Health, Mr Noonan, said there were "no hard data" on numbers misusing drugs, with estimates varying from 3,000 to 7,000. The 1994 statistics from the Health Research Board showed that 2,702 addicts had been treated in the greater Dublin area, but the number misusing drugs was greatly above that figure.
Opening the debate for Fianna Fail, Ms Marian McGennis declared that the Minister's proposals would be welcomed if they had any chance of working and if he outlined how he proposed to fund the increased services.
"Two nights ago, an alleged drug dealer was beaten to death not very far from this House. The worrying backdrop to this death is that many ordinary people in communities where we all live will not condemn this killing. Drugs are killing our children and ultimately our society. They wreak a plague of havoc in all our lives. I condemn this killing, but unfortunately it is a further sign of the reduced respect for life which the scourge of drugs has caused."
Mr Noonan said that he realised dramatic and forceful action was needed to deal with the complex issue of drug abuse. The objectives of his Department's proposals "were based on two key issues: reducing the number of people turning to drugs through information, education and prevention; and providing a range of treatment options for addicts.
Specific measures included spending £500,000 on awareness and a major media campaign later this year; the development of treatment programmes; continuation of methadone programmes and an expanded treatment role for GPs.
Mr Sean Maloney (Lab) said that there were two drug problems. The first was with so called soft drugs, such as cocaine and ecstasy and the second was with heroin addiction, which was mainly confined to Dublin.
"Ecstasy is known to us all. It has penetrated every town and village. Its definition as a soft drugs a complete misnomer since it, too, can be a killer. It has another danger - particularly in Dublin - in that it is a gateway to heroin. It is being sold in party packs comprising two E tabs and a heroin joint. It may not he so easy to prevent heroin smoking from spreading throughout the country."
Mr Don Lydon (FF), a psychologist in the St John of God Hospital, said that more and more young people were coming in with problems which were drugs based. They accepted the fact that they could get a "high" from drugs and were complacent about using them. He believed alcohol advertising should be banned and said that the lethal outcome of combinations of drink and drugs should be highlighted.
Prof Joe Lee (Ind) said that he was both saddened and staggered by what he had heard. It was "staggering" that the Minister could tell the House they had so little official data and yet say that he was "confident" that the problem could be dealt with.
Ms Cathy Honan (PD) said that the gardai in her constituency of Co Laois had given her an alarming sketch of how drugs were spreading in rural areas. They were not confined to raves or discos.
On Thursdays, when people got the dole, they pooled their money. One person went to Dublin to buy drugs and divide them out. They usually bought cannabis, ecstasy and speed. On Fridays, third level students came home from regional colleges in Limerick, Dublin, Athlone and other towns. They brought drugs with them, for which there was a ready market. At weekends, those working in Dublin and other cities also came home with supplies of hash and LSD, which they sold on.
There was not a town or village in her part of rural Ireland which was unaffected by drugs. If anyone walked through Tullamore at 3 a.m. on a Saturday they would find that it was like Grafton Street on Christmas Eve.
There are no official drug squads in rural areas. We had 300 gardai drafted in when the BSE scare was at its height. When are we going to get drug squads drafted in? Some local gardai may have an interest in tackling the drugs problem, but they are not on duty all the time".
The statements concluded.
The House adjourned until 2.30p.m. next Wednesday.