Paul Murphy Demands Condemnation of 'Druggies' Remark
Paul Murphy criticised comments in the Dáil by Fianna Gael TD Paul Keogh, who said O'Connell Street is "full of druggies", and asked the Taoiseach to condemn that language. Murphy said the remark dehumanises people with drug addiction and called for a health-based approach and proper funding for drugs task forces.
Call for condemnation and commitments
Murphy asked the Taoiseach to condemn the use of dehumanising and stigmatising language and sought a commitment that the government will not adopt a criminalising, stigmatising approach to people suffering from drug addiction.
Underfunded local drugs task forces
Murphy said he sits on the Tala drugs task force and described it as "massively underfunded", saying similar shortfalls persist across the country after cuts a decade earlier and that task forces have not recovered.
Policy critique and root causes
He argued that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael together have created conditions for the crisis by failing to invest in housing, social services and community supports, and criticised reliance on criminalisation instead of public-health measures.
Government response in the Dáil
The Taoiseach said he did not hear the specific remarks, rejected the claim that the government's model is criminalisation-driven, and defended a public-health approach and support for task forces and community interventions while condemning traffickers.
Prevention, rehabilitation and community intervention
Murphy emphasised rehabilitation and the provision of services to help people come off addiction, and the Taoiseach highlighted education, early intervention and community-grown responses as central to protecting young people and families.
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Yesterday, Fianna Gael TD, Paul Keogh, said in the Dáil that O'Connell Street is, quote, full of druggies. Taoiseach, I want to ask you to condemn this use of dehumanising and stigmatising language. I find it utterly incredible that a senior TD supporting the government would speak in such a way, punching down at some of the most vulnerable people in our society, people who are suffering from drug addiction. I do worry that it reflects a certain approach by the government of criminalising and stigmatising people when the government is underfunding drugs task forces right across the country. I am on the Tala drugs task force, massively underfunded. The same applies across the country, whereby they haven't recovered from massive cuts 10 years ago. The refusal by the government to take a public health-driven approach instead of relying on criminalisation and stigmatising. When Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael together have created the conditions of this crisis that exists in many of our communities because of the lack of investment in terms of housing, in terms of social services and in our communities. So I would like a condemnation of those comments and I would like a commitment that that is not the sort of approach that this government will take. Deputy Murphy, in respect of deputies, I did not hear Deputy Keogh make those comments. I would not agree with those comments or approve of those comments because drug addiction is very difficult for the individual in the first instance. In our view it has to be about understanding the issues, rehabilitation, helping people to come off addiction, providing the services to enable that to happen on a continuing and consistent basis. I do not accept that our model is criminalisation driven. I do not accept that at all. For 30 years now we have had a strong public health dimension to drugs in different iterations. Fianna Fáil would have been strong, very strong in supporting task forces. You should know that. The previous Minister of State, Fianna Fáil Minister of State over the last 25 years did a hell of a lot. I think the former Minister Pat Rabbit would have set up drug task force areas. It has continued on by the likes of Minister Nola Heron, John Curran and many, many more, and Owen Ryan as well. We are anxious to intervene in communities at a community-grown level. We should condemn the traffickers and the drug barons who are really destroying our young people and our city. We have seen that in terms of the criminal gangs that have, I think, done huge damage to the city of Dublin and to the country in terms of the selling of drugs, getting people hooked on drugs and destroying families and individuals' lives as a result. We have to have a health-based approach as the key approach to this education as well at the earlier stages, building up self-esteem in our education programmes. I have to conclude. I have concluded. Thank you. Thank you.
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