Labour TD Marie Sherlock says the Government is stuck in the past, still treating addiction as a crime rather than a health problem.
She is calling for full decriminalisation of people who use drugs and major investment in treatment, recovery and harm reduction services.
The Dublin Central TD said the Government’s current approach leaves families, communities and those struggling with addiction trapped in a system that punishes instead of helping.
“We are still criminalising people who need care,” she said.
“A diversion scheme on its own will not work. We need real reform and full decriminalisation backed by investment in treatment, recovery and harm reduction services.”
Sherlock was speaking after Labour brought a Dáil motion urging Ministers Jim O’Callaghan and Jennifer Carroll MacNeill to act on the recommendations of the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use.
She accused the coalition of ignoring the evidence and cherry-picking only parts of the Assembly’s report.
“The Citizens’ Assembly identified three pillars for a health-led approach. These are decriminalisation, treatment and harm reduction,” she said.
“Yet the Government is pushing ahead with only one. That is not reform. That is delay.”
Sherlock said the human cost of inaction is clear.
“Overdose deaths in Ireland are among the highest in Europe,” she said.
“Communities are suffering and families are suffering. The old approach has failed. Addiction is not a crime. It is a health issue and it must be treated as one.”
She pointed to Portugal’s experience as an example of what can work, saying that a health-led system can replace stigma with support.
“The Portuguese model shows what works. It moves people into treatment, keeps them alive and helps them recover,” she said.
“That means proper funding for services, safe consumption centres and local task forces. The MSIF in Dublin should be made permanent and new centres should be opened across the country.”
Sherlock said the Government now faces a simple choice.
“Is Ireland ready to choose dignity, safety and recovery or more of the same?” she said. “We cannot police our way out of this. People deserve a system that helps them live, not one that punishes them for surviving.”