In March 2024, the Joint Committee on Drugs Use was established by the Irish Government to consider the recommendations in the report of the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use.1

Oireachtas Committees
In Ireland, there are mechanisms that Government can use to inform the policy-making process. Oireachtas (Parliamentary) committees advise the Oireachtas on a range of specific areas, including drug policy.

They also scrutinise Government expenditure and debate proposed legislation. Where appropriate, they publish reports on specific issues, which reflect the views of the committee rather than the relevant minister or Government of the day as such.2

Committee brief
The Joint Committee on Drugs Use was set up by the Government to specifically consider the 36 recommendations in the report of the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use and to make a reasoned response to each recommendation.1 Its terms of reference were agreed in February 2024 and the committee held its first meeting on 13 June 2024. Within its terms of reference is a requirement that the committee reports to Government within 7 months of its first meeting.3

Committee membership
The committee includes members from across the spectrum of political parties (not just Government parties). The first chair of the committee was Michael McNamara TD, an Independent Dáil Deputy for Clare, but a member of the European Parliament since July 2024. He has spoken in the past about the issue of drugs, supporting legalisation and regulation.

On his website, he states that ‘drugs need to be legalised and possession decriminalised by the Dáil to take this lucrative trade out of the hands of brutal thugs without delay’.4 In a Dáil debate on drugs policy in November 2022, he argued the following:

They are evil and the trade is very much in their hands, and they are making money out of it, but the answer is not to continue to chase them, it is to take the trade out of their hands, to legalise drugs and to deal with the fact that there is a huge and growing market for drugs. That is a health issue, and it must be dealt with in the same way we deal with the appetite and demand for every other substance – cigarettes, alcohol, etc., instead of fighting a losing war, which we are very clearly losing, despite the best efforts of the Garda.5

The other members of the committee reflect cross-party membership, including Independents, as well as members of the Senate (Seanad Éireann). Where Deputy McNamara could not attend meetings of the Committee up to the summer recess, Senator Lynn Ruane (Independent) stood in as the chair.

Committee activity
Prior to the Oireachtas summer recess (11 July 2024), the committee had met six times and received presentations from members of Government Departments and other State bodies, as well as representatives of other organisations and academic institutions with an interest in the field. Their meetings are public and broadcast live, with recordings and transcripts of the meetings available publicly. Four of the six meetings had ‘decriminalisation, depenalisation, diversion and legalisation of drugs’ as the main topic under discussion.6

1    The Citizens’ Assembly (2024) Report of the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use. vol. 1. Dublin:  The Citizens’ Assembly. Available from: https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/40393/

2    For further information on Oireachtas  committees and how they work, visit:
https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/committees/

3    For the committee terms of reference, visit:
https://data.oireachtas.ie/ie/oireachtas/committee/dail/33/committee_on_standing_orders_and_dail_reform/reports/2024/2024-02-28_orders-of-reference-for-special-committee-on-drugs-use_en.pdf

4    McNamara M (2022) Legalising drug use in Ireland. Available from:
https://michaelmcnamaratd.com/2022/11/30/legalising-drug-use-in-ireland/

5    McNamara M (2022) Parliamentary Dáil Debates. 30 Nov 2022. Vol. 1030, No. 3. Available from:
https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/dail/2022-11-30/8/#spk_41

6    To view a video or read a transcript of the committee meetings, visit:
https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/committees/33/drugs-use/debates/