Results 421-440 of 1,031,666 for in 'Dáil debates' OR in 'Committee meetings' (speaker:Mark Ward OR speaker:Christopher O'Sullivan OR speaker:Michael McNamara OR speaker:Danny Healy-Rae)

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation of Drugs: Discussion (27 Jun 2024)

Michael McNamara: We will just use the agreed running order. If somebody comes in, we will deal with it then. The first member to contribute shall be Senator Ruane.

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation of Drugs: Discussion (27 Jun 2024)

Michael McNamara: I am sorry to interrupt but I must ask you to wrap up your response.

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation of Drugs: Discussion (27 Jun 2024)

Michael McNamara: I thank Ms Eastwood. If Ms Lawlor wants to come in on this specific question, I must ask her to be very brief because I want to move on to the next member.

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation of Drugs: Discussion (27 Jun 2024)

Mark Ward: I thank the witnesses for their compelling statements. Nobody listening in will disagree that the war on drugs has failed. As Ms Eastwood said, prohibition is not working and punitive policies are killing people. Nobody can disagree with that. I have a couple of questions for Professor Stevens initially. He said that it is not just a question of a binary choice between prohibition and...

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation of Drugs: Discussion (27 Jun 2024)

Mark Ward: Does Professor Stevens have any international best practice examples of how possession for personal use was calculated? Was it by amount, by weight or by cost?

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation of Drugs: Discussion (27 Jun 2024)

Mark Ward: One of the other issues that needs to be considered in the context of decriminalisation is the use of drugs in public spaces. Is there international best practice, examples of how that worked or different ways of doing it, where there were or were not punitive responses to using drugs in a public space?

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation of Drugs: Discussion (27 Jun 2024)

Mark Ward: Where decriminalisation has come in, has it led to a decrease in stop and search activities for the general public? When I was growing up, it was a common occurrence in my area. Going to the shop was like running the gauntlet.

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation of Drugs: Discussion (27 Jun 2024)

Michael McNamara: I thank Ms Eastwood. Professor Stevens wishes to come in. I ask him to be brief.

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation of Drugs: Discussion (27 Jun 2024)

Michael McNamara: I thank Professor Stevens. I hope to get to a second round. I thank Deputy Gould. I call Deputy Hourigan.

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation of Drugs: Discussion (27 Jun 2024)

Michael McNamara: I ask the other two witnesses to be very brief and to take no more than a minute each. There will be a second round of questions and Deputy Hourigan will have an opportunity to expand on those issues.

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation of Drugs: Discussion (27 Jun 2024)

Michael McNamara: I thank Ms Eastwood. Unless anybody wants to come back in with any further answers on those questions, we will move on.

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation of Drugs: Discussion (27 Jun 2024)

Michael McNamara: I thank Ms Lawlor. The next member offering is Senator Seery Kearney. If she wants somebody else to take this slot, she can wait until the next one.

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation of Drugs: Discussion (27 Jun 2024)

Michael McNamara: Did I understand from Ms Eastwood's presentation up until now that she also favours a regulation approach? If so, does Ms Eastwood want to comment on the questions that Deputy Stanton asked Ms Lawlor about whether that applies to all drugs? How does Ms Eastwood see that working in practice?

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation of Drugs: Discussion (27 Jun 2024)

Michael McNamara: Are there conceptual, philosophical, medical or any other reasons apart from the cowardice of politicians, which we will all take on the chin, and the difficulties it would pose for them? Does Ms Eastwood advocate for the legalisation and regulation of all drugs or some drugs? How does she see that-----

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation of Drugs: Discussion (27 Jun 2024)

Michael McNamara: How would Ms Eastwood see that operating?

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation of Drugs: Discussion (27 Jun 2024)

Michael McNamara: I thank Ms Eastwood and Deputy Stanton. I call Senator Seery Kearney.

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation of Drugs: Discussion (27 Jun 2024)

Michael McNamara: I thank the Senator for staying within the timeline and call Deputy Shanahan.

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation of Drugs: Discussion (27 Jun 2024)

Michael McNamara: I am conscious that Ms Lawlor wanted to comment. I ask her to be brief. I am sorry; I know I am always asking her to be brief. Maybe she did not wish to comment?

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation of Drugs: Discussion (27 Jun 2024)

Michael McNamara: There seems to be a problem with the line.

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation of Drugs: Discussion (27 Jun 2024)

Michael McNamara: We will move on because there seems to be a problem with Ms Lawlor's line. I am sorry. I thought I had seen her indicate she wanted to come in. Senator Sherlock is next.