...Senator Michael McDowell: I support the suggestion that we should have a debate on justice policy as well because it is now well over 20 years since the decision was made to build a new prison at Thornton Hall to replace Mountjoy. It was not just my project. A later Minister, Alan Shatter, seemed to suggest that he was in favour of doing it. Nobody in the Department of justice has ever said that it is off the agenda, but Mountjoy Prison needs to be replaced. Despite the valiant efforts of people like Eddie Mullins to make it as humane as possible when he was the governor of that prison, it is wholly unsuitable for the purposes for which it is currently used. We have a crisis of accommodation. We have people sleeping on floors. We have multiple occupations of prison cells in squalid circumstances. We have United Nations observers telling us that what is happening in our prison system is wholly unacceptable by international standards. We have the Inspector of Prisons saying the same, yet this Government has not said that it is proceeding with the Thornton Hall project.

If it is ever to happen, the planning for it should be there now. If the planning for it is to be done now, it means that a decision has to be made and the public has to understand that it is happening. Only when that has happened will it be possible to have drug-free areas in our prisons, genuine rehabilitative programmes, reasonable exercise facilities for prisoners and the like. The same applies to the women's prison which is grossly overcrowded. Every time a woman is put into jail, and it is rare enough that it happens, some serious offender is let out to make space for her. All of that is wholly wrong. It is about time that the Government as a whole, and it is not just the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, because his predecessors bear the same responsibility, and all of the parties in Government come to this House to explain what they are going to do about the massive holes that are present in our criminal justice system and ensuring the safety of communities.

This is a matter of life and death. There are people, not merely those who may commit suicide, and families who are in terror of drug gangs extracting money from them and threatening to burn their houses down. We have seen it with our own eyes. Something must be done and it requires a new degree of vigour on the part of the Government....

...Senator Aubrey McCarthy: I would like to mention a report that is about to be published by Tiglin. My colleague, Senator McDowell, has already spoken about drug-related intimidation this morning. Tiglin is about to publish its report on Tuesday, when its representatives will be in the audiovisual room in Leinster House. What they are finding is that over half of the people now presenting to Tiglin do so due to cocaine. There is a huge cocaine crisis in Ireland. Cocaine, both powder and crack cocaine, now accounts for 50.4% of all the people who come in through the rehab centres at Tiglin. The last few weeks have shown us, in the hardest way, how addiction affects not only the individual who takes the drugs, but also families, parents, partners and whole communities. We have also seen how it can take lives.

I have mentioned many times my work in the Lighthouse on Pearse Street. Behind every person and behind every statistic that Tiglin has in its annual report, there are talents, gifts and abilities that seem to be lost sight of. That is why Tiglin works with the whole person. It works with their physical and mental health, but also their relationships, family supports, housing and so on, because addiction hits the whole family and the whole community. The report that is being published shows that 112,000 meals have been served in the last year at the Lighthouse, but also that 388 family support sessions have taken place. Some 111 third level certificates up to degree level have been given out through SETU. The numbers that have been fed and the families supported, and the people finding their way back into society, show that it actually works. However, services are being stretched and the crisis is pushing them to the limit.

It is not a problem for somebody else. It is not a problem just for NGOs. It is a problem for the whole society. We need a national response. I ask the Leader to bring to the House the Minister with responsibility for the national drugs strategy to discuss it. Behind every addiction, there is a person and a family, and the ability to change their lives...

...Senator Garret Kelleher: I wish to speak about the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person (Amendment) (Spiking) Bill 2023, which will progress through Second Stage in the Dáil this evening. I commend Young Fine Gael in particular on bringing this forward, as well as the Senators of the 26th Seanad, including the now Deputy Barry Ward but also the Ceannaire and the Leas-Chathaoirleach, on listening and taking this important legislation through every Stage in this House.

This Bill is about recognising spiking as the serious crime that it is and ensuring those who are responsible are held to account. Spiking is defined as administering a substance to someone without their knowledge or consent. This can include putting a substance into somebody's drink, injecting them with a drug using a needle or giving someone a larger quantity of alcohol than they were aware of. The intention is to overpower or sedate a person, cause harm, facilitate rape or sexual assault or to commit another offence. It is an act of abusing power over another person. It can leave a devastating and long-lasting impact on victims. Spiking is not currently a stand-alone criminal offence in Ireland and while existing offences such as poisoning can apply, they do not provide the specific legal recognition that the crime of spiking requires.

Between 2021 and the end of 2025, An Garda Síochána received 339 reports of spiking. This amounted to an average of one incident every six days, but we know that many incidents go unreported and it is fair to say that this number equates to only a very small fraction of what is actually happening. We have become accustomed to taking our own precautions against spiking. Parents warn their children to be careful of their drinks while they are out and friends keep an eye on each other's drinks. We have the responsibility to protect ourselves but we must also ensure that legislatively the law protects people from the offence of spiking. This is why this Bill matters. It creates a specific criminal offence for spiking and recognises the danger in its own right, sending out a clear message.

This is a very strong example of how youth political organisations can bring about meaningful change in public policy. I commend all of those involved in this positive and effective campaign to date...

...Senator Garret Ahearn: I thank the, I believe, 20 Senators who made contributions.

Senators Fitzpatrick, McAdam and McDowell touched on community safety, particularly in inner city Dublin and a meeting that was held recently that no agencies attended, which does not seem to make sense. We have the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, in next week on community safety, so there will be an opportunity to speak on that. There is a business group, We Are Dublin Town, that is seeking establishing a safety warden scheme, similar to the pilot scheme that the Minister, Deputy McEntee, supported. What is important is that it is not used as a political opportunity, but that all public representatives come together and see this as an opportunity to support the inner city. The Minister will be in next week and there will be an opportunity for a debate on that...

Senator McCarthy raised the report from Tiglin, which will be published on Tuesday in the audiovisual room in Leinster House. I look forward to listening to it. In a way, it is depressing that over half the cases coming forward are cocaine-related. Addiction, as the Senator knows, is a terrible disease. He has asked for a debate on it. The Oireachtas Committee on Drugs Use published a report in this regard. While I am willing to have a debate on that report, we are thinking of giving it a couple of months so that we can see the findings from that report of the committee. Perhaps in the new year – I have spoken to other Senators on this – we can arrange a debate on that report, the issues of addiction and drugs and what can be done going forward. While I am happy to have the debate in two weeks’ time, it will be more beneficial if we have it in the new year...

Senator Kelleher raised the issue of the spiking Bill, as did Senators Byrne and Brady. This was initiated by a youth organisation – it happened to be Young Fine Gael – that identified a loophole affecting young people and students in particular across the country. It is the first youth organisation ever to receive cross-party support in the Seanad. I commend every single Senator who supported that Bill a number of years ago. It was introduced by the Leader of the Seanad at the time, former Senator and current MEP Regina Doherty. It received widespread support in the House. I encourage all Members of Dáil Éireann to support the Bill. It will have a huge impact on young people in the future. I thank the Senators for raising the matter...