Debate contribution: Sentencing: Drug Dealing

Debate contribution by Mr Danny Donnelly on 21 April 2026.

MLA

Mr Danny Donnelly

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

21 April 2026

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Opposition Business

Heading

Sentencing: Drug Dealing

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5498079

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I welcome today's motion and the opportunity to discuss the urgent need for a joined-up and proactive response to drug-related harm in Northern Ireland. I support the principle of stronger accountability for those who profit from the supply of illegal drugs. The devastation caused by drug dealing is real, and the impact on families and communities is tragic and undeniable. Campaigns such as Jasmin's law come from unimaginable pain. That pain deserves to be heard and recognised. I understand that the Justice Minister has recently met Pauline Duddy. While sentencing has a role to play, it cannot be the whole answer. This has to be about prevention, not just crisis intervention. The issue crosses many areas of public life, and tackling drug-related harm —.

Certainly.

I absolutely agree. We need to step in early to save lives. Tackling drug-related harm and prevention is predominantly a health-related issue. Research from Queen's University has highlighted the fact that young adults aged 25 to 34 account for the highest number of drug-related deaths in Northern Ireland, rising significantly over a decade from 13·4 per 100,000 in 2011 to 27 per 100,000 in 2021. The same research showed that the highest number of ambulance call-outs for drug-related overdose incidents for females was in the 15-19 age category while, for males, it was in the 25-29 age category. Moreover, emergency admissions data indicates that the highest number of hospital admissions for overdose incidents occurred in the 10-19 age group between 2021 and 2023. The rate of drug deaths for under-35s in Northern Ireland is alarmingly high. The closing lines of Lyra McKee's final article before her murder in 2018, which was about "ceasefire babies", are poignant:

"Your children, they’d told our parents, will be safe now. With the peace deal, the days of young people disappearing and dying young would be gone. Yet this turned out to be a lie, too."

Drug policy reform activist Dr Órfhlaith Campbell highlighted Lyra's work as a stark reminder of the turmoil and mental health challenges faced by that generation. She also highlighted the connection between mental health issues, poverty, deprivation and substance use disorders and acknowledged that, alongside the harrowing rates of suicide, Northern Ireland has suffered significantly from drug-related deaths. Dr Campbell stated:

"As long as drug policy remains rooted in criminalization, efforts to reduce harm, address addiction and save lives will face persistent barriers."

Globally, the tide is turning. In 2022, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, speaking at the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs, declared:

"if drugs destroy lives, the same can also be true of drug policies."

In March 2024, 60 United Nations countries collectively called for an end to the so-called war on drugs, which, in reality, has been a war on people. The policy that continues to constrain a health-led response in Northern Ireland is Westminster's Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. That legislation is not devolved. There should be no ambiguity: the issue in Northern Ireland is profound. Campaigns such as Jasmin's law are at the very heart of ensuring that there is accountability, but we must start earlier and be prepared to act before more lives are lost. The recent Drug Deaths Taskforce report's recommendations included increased funding for the staffing of drug outreach services, especially for young people and young adults; introducing real-time drug testing and faster public alerts on dangerous substances; monitoring the emergence of synthetic opioids as an urgent public health priority; strengthening the drug and alcohol monitoring and information system (DAMIS) through the rapid testing of drug samples submitted by community and voluntary organisations; and standardising the emergency department recording of non-fatal overdoses to improve trend analysis, treatment and service planning. If we want safer communities, let us not only punish those who profit from addiction but build a system that reduces harm and prevents more families from ever having to bury a loved one in the first place.

653 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:26 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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