‘Head Shops Bill’ welcome but still short-sighted, Ó Snodaigh tells Dáil

THE Fianna Fáil/Green Party Government’s ‘Head Shops Bill’, debated in the Dáil this afternoon, is welcome but late and does not go far enough, Sinn Féin spokesperson for Justice Aengus Ó Snodaigh has told TDs.

He said that although the ban introduced in May was better late than never, the Government had performed disgracefully by failing to act for so long.
Ó Snodaigh said:

“The current legal provisions for responding to this threat are not up to the task. They are too slow, too cumbersome. Even since the May ban of a list of substances, more new drugs have been invented to replace them.

“Sinn Féin anticipated that this would be the case and so in April I published the first piece of legislation to comprehensively address all the psychoactive substances sold from head shops, via the internet and by home delivery into the future.

“It was and remains my strong view that an infrastructure, bringing together the experience and expertise of scientists, the medical profession, the pharmaceutical industry, those working in the area of addiction treatment, the community and Garda, is needed to keep pace with the multi-million-euro ‘legal highs’ research and development industry.”

ENDS