New law on drug dealing will criminalise 'vulnerable addicts'

A new law will not combat drug dealing or gangland crime but will criminalise “vulnerable addicts”, it has been claimed in the Dáil.

The Government has been accused of a “lack of urgency” over the drugs problem and of failing to show leadership on the issue.

During a debate on the Misuse of Drugs Bill 2016 in the Dáil last night, Sinn Féin TD Jonathan O’Brien said the legislation is “about as far away” as you can get from the promises in the programme for government.