No expression of confidence in chair of drug law taskforce

The Government has declined to say if it still has confidence in the chair of its drugs taskforce after he directly contradicted plans to relax Ireland’s drug possession laws.

The Department of Health and Department of Justice failed to express confidence in retired judge Garrett Sheehan last night amid questions over the internal Government stand-off.

As revealed in Saturday’s Irish Examiner, Mr Sheehan — who chairs the Government’s working group on “alternative approaches to possession of drugs for personal use” — contradicted recommendations by the group in a formal submission to ministers.

While his group has recommended relaxing the penalties for personal possession of drugs, in his own separate minority report, Mr Sheehan distanced himself from those views.

“This document outlines his disagreement with any changes to drug laws that might be interpreted as normalising drug use, especially in the context of ongoing violence linked to the drug trade,” ministers were told in a Cabinet memo last Thursday.

The group’s report has recommended that:

• People caught with drugs for personal use are to escape criminal conviction until a third offence;


• And a system whereby people caught for a first time are diverted to the HSE for mandatory assessment and intervention. If caught a second time, they will be subject to an adult caution, among other matters.

However, in the memo to Cabinet, it was stated that Mr Sheehan “recommends the Government resists calls for decriminalisation; that they restore the rule of law; that people are educated about the dangers of drug use, and that there is a greater policing of recreational drug use.”

The Irish Examiner asked both the Department of Health and Department of Justice if they have confidence in Mr Sheehan, given he has contradicted the group’s recommendations to Cabinet.

However, in separate statements, neither department would give their full backing.

When asked specifically if the Department or Health Minister Simon Harris still have confidence in the chair of the group, a spokesperson said: “Ministers considered the report of the working group and the chairperson’s report in preparing the memo for Government. The remit of the working group is now completed.”

Asked the same question, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice said: “The Cabinet has considered the report of the working group to consider alternative approaches to the possession of drugs for personal use.

“It is expected the report, including Judge Sheehan’s report, will be published next week after engagement with stakeholders, alongside Government proposals in this area.”

The lack of a complete backing for Mr Sheehan is likely to raise fresh questions over the Government’s position on the group’s recommendations.

However, Government sources last night stressed that senior Department of Justice officials have “complete respect” for Mr Sheehan, and that they welcome “different views on complex issues”.