Garda Commissioner: We don't support decriminalisation of drugs for personal use

The Citizens Assembly on Drugs had said that while possession should 'remain illegal' in law, decriminalisation should be adopted in practice

Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly said that while gardaí supported the current 'health-led' approach of the Government it did not support decriminalisation or legalisation. File Picture: PA

Police boss Justin Kelly has said An Garda Síochána “certainly don’t support” the decriminalisation or legalisation of drugs.

The Garda Commissioner was responding to the recommendation of an Oireachtas Committee that the Government should formally decriminalise the possession of drugs for personal use.

The report of the Oireachtas Committee on Drugs has now gone to the Government for consideration. The committee was set up by the Government to examine the recommendations of the Citizens Assembly on Drugs (CAD), which reported in January 2024.

The CAD said that while possession should "remain illegal" in law, decriminalisation should be adopted in practice.

The committee went a step further and recommended that the criminal offence of possession — under Section 3 of the Misuse of Drugs Act — should be repealed.

Commissioner Kelly said he respects the work of the committee and that it is a matter for the Government to decide its response — adding that An Garda Síochána would police the laws the Oireachtas decides.

He said the force gave detailed evidence to the CAD, and appeared before the committee, and that its position is consistent. He said that while gardaí supported the current “health-led” approach of the Government it did not support decriminalisation or legalisation.

“Our sole focus around drugs is around transnational organised crime, around supply, it’s around drug-related intimidation and, in the course of our work, we come across people in possession of small amounts, but that’s not a metric that we follow," he said. 

"We don’t target people for small amounts of drugs, there’s already adult caution in place for some section 3, possession offences.”

Dr Richard Healy of Streetlink Homeless Support supported the committee's recommendation: "Decriminalisation does not mean legalisation and it does not remove consequences or accountability. 

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"Rather, it shifts the response to personal possession away from criminal penalties and toward healthcare, treatment, outreach and support. Supply, trafficking and organised criminality remain criminal matters.

"International evidence suggests decriminalisation, when implemented alongside investment in treatment, housing, prevention and community services, can reduce overdose deaths, improve service engagement and reduce long-term social harms associated with problematic drug use."

• Cormac O'Keeffe is security correspondent for the Irish Examiner