Irish Examiner view: The bigger picture regarding drugs

Although welcome, the seizure of a record haul of cocaine off Ireland's south coast will have little effect on the drugs menace unless drug users change their behaviour

Gardaí and deck hands on board the seized bulk cargo ship MV Matthew at Marino Point in Cork. Picture: Dan Linehan

As more details emerge from the seizure of the MV Matthew earlier this week off the Irish coast, it’s easy to get caught up in the operational minutiae. Enjoyable though it is to learn of frantic drug smugglers trying to burn their cargo of cocaine before the authorities get a chance to impound it, that is hardly the significant lesson to take from these events. 

It would be wise to reflect on what Further and Higher Education Minister Simon Harris said in the Dáil earlier this year about drug addiction.  In a response to a question from Fianna Fáil TD Brendan Smith, Mr Harris said: