Deputy Aindrias Moynihan: asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on health will next meet. [3806/24]  

Deputy Paul Murphy: asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee that deals with disability will next meet. [4024/24]  

Deputy Aindrias Moynihan: Gabhaim buíochas leis an Taoiseach as ucht an cheist seo a fhreagairt. Last week saw the publication of the report of the Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use, which included wide-ranging recommendations. The general thrust was around having a health-led response to the possession of drugs for personal use. As I understand it, the next stage is for the report to come to the Oireachtas. Will the Cabinet committee on health discuss the report and prepare the various next steps in terms of legislation arising out of it, or, as the report recommends, will that be done by a new committee headed by the Taoiseach? Will he give an overview of plans for dealing with the report and a timeline for same?... 

Deputy Paul Murphy: Tomorrow our Bill to decriminalise the possession of small amounts of cannabis will be debated and voted on. Will the Government implement a health-led approach by supporting that legislation?...

………………………………..

Leo Varadkar, The Taoiseach: Deputies Moynihan and Murphy asked about drugs policy. I met the chairman of the Citizens' Assembly on Drug Use last week. There were three takeaways for me from what he said. The first is that we need an Irish model; we should not just try to copy models in other countries. The assembly has made a lot of recommendations and it is not just about decriminalisation. He does not want all the focus to be on that. If it is going to be examined by an Oireachtas committee, it should be a special committee, not the health or justice committees because it is relevant to both areas and indeed other areas like education. Our intention is to refer the report to a special Oireachtas committee. The Minister, Deputy Naughton, will bring a memo to Cabinet about that next week. One of the issues the special Oireachtas committee will have to tease is what decriminalisation really means in Ireland in a legal context. Does it mean that is not an offence at all? Does it meant that it is a non-indictable offence? Does it mean that it is an offence without a penalty? Is there something like penalty points or does it actually mean that a certain amount of each particular substance would not be illegal to possess? All of this has to be teased out by the committee. It was not teased out by the assembly. In fairness to the members, they are not legal experts or legislators. With that in mind, we are proposing a timed amendment of nine months to the Private Members' Bill.