Aodhán Ó Ríordáin calls for Enda Kenny to appoint a new Drugs Minister

Labour Senator Aodhán Ó Ríordáin has called on Enda Kenny to appoint a new Drugs Minister as a matter of urgency.
"I was proud as Drugs Minister in the last government to be able to pursue new policies and to see them get cabinet approval - most notably the adoption of the Medically Supervised Injecting Rooms as part of a harm reduction approach,” he says. "We also need an adult conversation about pursuing the Portuguese model which invests heavily in treatment rather than wasting resources on a criminal justice approach.
"In 2013, 679 people died in Ireland as a result of drug and alcohol related causes. Only last month two men died from overdoses on the streets of our capital city with hardly any public comment. Only a dedicated minister with an open-minded approach can begin to tackle this menace. He or she will receive the Labour Party's full support if these progressive policies are followed."
Those sentiments are echoed by Ana Liffey Drug Project Director Tony Duffin who says: “Every day there are media reports relating to Ireland’s drugs crisis - violence fueled related to the illicit drugs market; tragically premature drug related deaths; drugs seizures; and more besides. Some people have described to me how they have become desensitised to the situation. We can do more; but, it does require political leadership. Without that, it will be very difficult to make progress on progressive drug policies. Also, evidence based progressive drug policy must be above party politics. We need both these elements if we genuinely wish to improve our current drug related difficulties and improve the situation for us all.”