Oireachtas drug committee should be expedited due to impending elections

Labour TD Aodhán Ó Ríordáin said that, as an election is due to take place in the next 12 months, the committee will have a “time problem” in ensuring a report is completed before then. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins

The upcoming Oireachtas committee to examine Ireland’s future drugs policy should be expedited to ensure a report is delivered before an expected general election later this year, opposition TDs have said.

Multiple TDs and Senators called for the Government to repeal parts of the Misuse of Drugs Act to begin the process of decriminalising simple possession of drugs.

Labour TD Aodhán Ó Ríordáin said that, as an election is due to take place in the next 12 months, the committee will have a “time problem” in ensuring a report is completed before then.

It is expected that the committee will take seven months to complete its report once it begins its work.

He said that if cross-party legislation is not agreed ahead of an election, all parties should commit to implementing the recommendations of the Citizens’ Assembly.

In October, the Citizens’ Assembly on Drug Use voted to recommend that Ireland move towards a “comprehensive health-led” approach, with a form of decriminalisation for the possession of drugs for personal use.

In particular, the vote on whether or not to regulate cannabis was “extremely tight”, with just one vote between legalisation (38 votes) and health-led (39 votes).

Fianna Fáil TD Paul McAuliffe said the committee should run for the remaining length of the Dáil, but an interim report on legal changes should be issued “almost immediately”.

In a joint letter, signed by Independent Senator Lynn Ruane, Green TD Neasa Hourigan, Mr Ó Ríordáin, and a series of drug policy experts, there were calls for the repeal of Section 3 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977, which is the basis for prosecuting individuals for personal possession of drugs.

The letter states that to move towards accepting the recommendations of the Citizens’ Assembly, the first step is to repeal Section 3 of the act.

“The Assembly’s recommendations around health services cannot be implemented effectively until we repeal Section 3 of the Misuse of Drugs Act. Criminalisation, and the stigma it imposes, inhibits effective health interventions in cases of problematic drug use,” the letter reads.

The committee will be chaired by a member of the Independent technical group. Its members are: Catherine Connolly; Marian Harkin; Michael McNamara; Thomas Pringle; Joan Collins; and Michael Fitzmaurice.

Following the delivery of a report, the Government will then prepare and publish its own response to the Citizens’ Assembly.