Prescribing heroin to drug users is "something that might happen in the future", the Minister of State with responsibility for the national drugs strategy has said.
Noel Ahern, reacting to the controversy over comments by broadcaster Gay Byrne, in which he called for the legalisation of drugs, said he would not rule out the provision of heroin to registered drug users. He also said he saw some merit in the argument that this would reduce crime levels associated with the drugs trade.
"But that is not what I would call the legalisation of drugs. It's a million miles away from making heroin and other drugs freely available.
"There are pilot projects in things like that across Europe. I have visited one in Frankfurt where they dispensed heroin to long-standing, registered drug users. I don't think there is any conclusive evidence at this stage whether it's right or not, but it is possible it could happen here, if that is what is decided is the safest thing."
He said people argued crime would be reduced if the State regulated drugs such as heroin. "I can see it might take some of the criminality out of it but I think criminals would just turn their hands to something else."
Mr Byrne, speaking on RTÉ radio at the weekend, said he was "coming around to the view" that drugs should be legalised as current criminalisation policies were "not working".
Reacting, the president of the Europe Against Drugs Network, Gráinne Kenny, said she was "appalled" at Mr Byrne's views and said he should step down as chairman of the Road Safety Authority.
RSA spokesman Brian Farrell said he and the authority's chief executive, Noel Brett, had "a conversation" yesterday about Mr Byrne's comments and both felt Mr Byrne had "a life outside the RSA and the comments were made in a personal capacity".
Dr Des Corrigan, director of the school of pharmacy at Trinity College Dublin, supported Ms Kenny in maintaining that illegal drugs should remain so.
"Speaking personally I don't think any drug which is covered by the Misuse of Drugs Act should be legalised, mainly because of the health effects."
He said if the State were to give legal status to illicit drugs it would be effectively describing them as "safe". "I don't think the evidence is that any of the [ illegal] drugs are safe."
However, Fr Seán Cassin, chairman of the Drug Policy Action Group, agreed with Mr Byrne and said there was a need to look at alternatives to the current policies.
There was a "syndrome in this country of reacting to every crisis with more laws, more prisons and more locking people away", he said.
The current criminal justice response to the "drugs crisis" was "actually training generations of people in criminal skills", Fr Cassin added.
Current policies concentrated on trying to crush the supply of drugs with law enforcement when this was "only half the problem". The reasons for the demand for drugs were not being addressed with the same vigour, he said.
Anna Quigley, co-ordinator of the Citywide Drugs Crisis Campaign, said there was a "wide variety of views on the issue" but she welcomed a debate.
