Debate contribution: Drug-testing Schemes

Debate contribution by Miss Deirdre Hargey on 30 September 2025.

MLA

Miss Deirdre Hargey

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

30 September 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Drug-testing Schemes

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5143324

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thank you very much, Mr Deputy Speaker. I thank my party colleagues for tabling this important motion and, indeed, those Members who tabled the amendment. I also thank Members from all parties for their contributions and the Minister for taking the time to come along to the debate. Unfortunately, I have seen at first hand in my constituency of South Belfast the impact of illegal drugs and, indeed, other substances, including legal drugs, and the effect that their use can have on families, communities and society as a whole. I am sure that other Members can say the same thing, and they have. Sadly, too many people, especially younger people, have lost their lives recently as a result of drug and alcohol misuse. Over the summer, along with other Sinn Féin representatives in South Belfast, I joined Ógra Shinn Féin on the Boucher Road, where concerts were taking place. On one night, over 40,000 people were out to enjoy a night out. The atmosphere was amazing. The sun was out, and there was a great buzz in South Belfast. People were ultimately going to enjoy their night, but we were there to hand out anti-spiking kits in order to raise awareness of the dangers of drugs, of how they can be misused and also of how spiking can be done maliciously. We were there to warn those concertgoers to be alert and to keep safe. That was a great initiative from a group of young people in our party. I am sure that it can be replicated by other young people throughout the city and beyond. It really highlights what agencies could do at events such as concerts. If Ógra Shinn Féin can hand out a couple of thousand anti-spiking kits at one event, I am sure that all our agencies and Departments, including Health, Justice and Communities, could work together to do so much more and have a huge impact. On that night, the response from the concertgoers was really positive. People were glad to see somebody there who was making some type of intervention. Whilst they might not have thought about spiking as they were going out, just handing them the kit made them think and might have sparked something in their heads. We are not saying that it will be the panacea, but, if any mitigation or intervention saves one life, it is ultimately worth doing. Sinn Féin is absolutely committed to tackling drug use through an evidence-based and public health-led approach. We want to ensure that we reduce the harm, and, from what we heard in the debate, I think that everybody wants that. We recognise that criminalisation alone does not save lives. What saves lives are interventions that are rooted in harm reduction, education and practical support and help on the ground. Many of the contributors spoke of that today. I will highlight the example of the Market community where I live. The Market Development Association is working with Queen's University Belfast on its QCAP — Queen's Communities and Place — initiative. That is a community initiative that looks at substance misuse and the health inequalities that the Minister touched on. It is looking at how it can break the stigma in that community; the impact of addiction, suicide, trauma, mental health issues and inequality; and the importance of working-class communities coming together, having a sense of pride in those communities and showing their resilience. Importantly, it is about showing that communities coming together can be an important driver in mitigating and reducing harm.

We are pushing for a health-led harm reduction approach. That is what we want to see, which is why we tabled the motion. From listening to all the contributions, I think that we have a broad unity of purpose. There may be some areas in which we want clarity or in which we may not fully agree, but I sense that there is a broad unity of purpose in the Chamber. That is the important message that we want to send out from the Chamber. We need to break the stigma and silence. I commend to the Minister a play called 'The Black Dog', which was produced by the Market community that I spoke about. That piece of theatre was shown over the summer in the Waterfront Hall, which was packed out on the four nights. The play talked about these very issues and the impact of health inequalities on working-class communities, particularly the Market. However, it could also have been about communities in the Shankill, Donegall Pass, the New Lodge, Derry and other places. That production will be shown again, so I commend it to the Minister so that, when he gets the invite, he goes along. It is a really powerful piece of theatre that shows how the arts can be used to break the stigma and to build a sense of community, connection and resilience. When we look internationally to areas such as Portugal and the Netherlands, which were touched on, we see that other Governments have introduced models of on-site drug testing, pill checking and drug information services, particularly at musical events. Many contributors touched on the Electric Picnic event and how its organisers introduced drug testing on-site this year. We in the North are the only part of these islands that does not have such a scheme in place. The Minister has not said that he intends to introduce such a scheme here, but I implore him to make sure that there is unity of purpose across the islands. Colm and others touched on the need to see greater collaboration across the island and these islands. We need to see more joined-up working not only in our Departments but across jurisdictions. With ours being the only jurisdiction to lag behind in a scheme or initiative such as that, again, I recommend that the Minister look seriously at the issue. Minister, you touched on DAMIS and said that there already is testing, but we hear from those who work in the field that that is too slow. It takes days to get results from DAMIS, and not every service user feeds into it, which is another issue. We support the Queen's pilot and its partnership work, because we need more rapid drug testing. Communities such as the Market also call for that, because they know that the quicker that we can get results, the quicker that we can alert the public and, potentially, save lives and mitigate future harms. The Minister talked about giving the model careful thought and consideration. Is there a timeline for that? Will it be part of the review of DAMIS? The practitioners and the communities on the ground do not want to just hear our words about a unity of purpose. They want timelines and firmer commitments. I am keen, if the information is not available today, to know when firmer commitments will be realised. The PSNI needs to be part of any harm reduction framework — one that involves community outreach and collaboration. That is important in working with event organisers to ensure that visible safeguarding and other measures are in place. Paul and Jonny touched on that. Of course, there must be training for the on-site staff to ensure that emergency services and infrastructure are in place so that, if something goes wrong, there is quick and easy access to medical assistance. That reinforces and highlights the fact that we need to see community-led policing: policing with the community and in the interests of the community. Let us be clear, however: policing alone will not prevent drug-related deaths. That is not a criticism but a statement of fact. It is clear that on-site testing at all major music events and festivals, with protections for those who use it, should be introduced, and we urge the Health Minister to do so as a matter of urgency. I take your point, Minister, that investigations into the incidents in the summer are ongoing, but, in the commentary that emerged from them, the Public Health Agency said that it is open to exploring that. We urge you to look at the expansion of rapid drug testing and to look again at initiatives such as the anti-spiking initiative, because they prompt the public to think about the issues and maybe take interventions and mitigations into their own hands. In supporting such initiatives, we are empowering our local citizens. It is not about condoning drug use; it is about facing reality. Young people and, indeed, many adults in our communities will continue to attend festivals and events. Some will experiment, and some will make mistakes, but our duty is to —

— ensure that those mistakes are not fatal and that we prevent harm.

1,458 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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