Criminal Law, Civil Law and Defence (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026: Report and Final Stages
Seanad Éireann — 2026-07-02
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Jim O'Callaghan (FF), Dublin Bay South

I thank Senator Higgins for her contribution. At the outset, I will identify the purpose of the amendment I am proposing on Report Stage. It is to facilitate, to speed up and to make more efficient prosecutions within our courts. For instance, if there is a prosecution relating to 10 g of cocaine, an issue to be determined by the court is whether the substance that is alleged to be cocaine is in fact cocaine or whether it is simply sugar or flour. For the purposes of that prosecution, it is obviously essential that there is objective evidence in respect of the substance to confirm whether it is a controlled drug under section 3 of the Misuse of Drugs Act. There are a number of ways of doing that. At present, An Garda Síochána operates presumptive drug testing, supervised by Forensic Science Ireland. This is effective and reliable. It is used in some District Court and Circuit Court proceedings at present. However, the Judiciary in some courts says that there is no statutory basis for the presumptive drug tests carried out by An Garda Síochána to be accorded the status of evidence within the prosecution of an offence. It is for that reason and that reason alone that this provision is being introduced. It will provide statutory recognition that the presumptive drug testing carried out by An Garda Síochána can be relied upon for the purposes of prosecution. Like all evidence advanced by the prosecution, it will be possible to rebut this evidence and it will be open to challenge by the accused. The reason this is advantageous is that it will free up a lot of time for Forensic Science Ireland with regard to prosecutions taking place under section 3 of the Misuse of Drugs Act. There is a benefit to recognising in statute the fact that presumptive drug testing by An Garda Síochána is acceptable in those types of prosecutions. That is the purpose of the statutory provision I am seeking to introduce here this afternoon.
Senator Higgins went on to discuss a related issue and asked why I am facilitating prosecutions under section 3 if it is the case that there is a consensus that we are now going to go with the recommendations of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Drugs Use and no longer criminalise drugs under section 3 of the Misuse of Drugs Act. Last night, I had the opportunity to discuss the joint committee's report with the committee's Chairman, Deputy Gannon, in the Dáil when answering questions to the Minister for justice. I started by stating that I welcome the work that has been done by the committee. It made 161 recommendations. I agree with the vast majority of them. However, the issue that has got a lot of attention and the issue Deputy Gannon wanted my view on is what he described as the "central recommendation" of the Oireachtas committee, the decriminalisation of all drugs, that is, not just cannabis and cocaine but also heroin and synthetic drugs. Deputy Gannon has said this was the central recommendation of the Oireachtas committee. I indicated to the Deputy that, notwithstanding the great respect I have for the committee and the work that has been done, I do not agree with that.
In her speech, the Senator has said that the public is telling us that the use of drugs should be decriminalised under section 3 of the Misuse of Drugs Act. These Houses are the public. It is the Dáil and the Seanad that determine what the law in this country should be. It is for that reason that we legitimately refer to ourselves as the elected representatives of the Irish people. We could have a lengthy debate here. I realise it is a legitimate policy position for people such as Senator Higgins, Senator Ruane or Deputy Gannon to put forward that we should decriminalise all drugs. That is not the----

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-07-02/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:09+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-02