I beg to move

That this Assembly recognises the role of harm reduction initiatives in preventing drug-related deaths at festivals and concerts; acknowledges that the Health Service Executive’s (HSE) rapid drug-checking schemes have operated successfully at events such as Electric Picnic for a number of years, providing warnings to concertgoers on potent and potentially lethal substances; notes the ongoing work between the PSNI, Forensic Science Northern Ireland (FSNI) and Queen’s University to develop a rapid drug-testing scheme that would enable harmful drugs to be identified and public alerts issued within 24 hours; further notes that we remain the only part of these islands without such provisions; stresses the need for collaboration between the forensic science laboratory at Seapark and the Health Service Executive, which has developed the capacity to deliver onsite drug testing at festivals across the rest of the island; and calls on the Minister of Health to confirm when those schemes will be rolled out by his Department in conjunction with the relevant agencies.

The Business Committee has agreed to allow up to one hour and 30 minutes for the debate. The proposer of the motion will have 10 minutes to propose and 10 minutes to make a winding-up speech. An Amendment has been selected and is published on the Marshalled List, so the Business Committee has agreed that 15 minutes will be added to the total time for the debate.

Please open the debate on the motion.

Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

[Translation: Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker.]

At the heart of the motion in my name and those of my Sinn Féin colleagues is a simple but powerful principle: harm reduction saves lives. We are here today to discuss an issue that is not abstract but real, immediate and deeply human.

Each year, young people across these islands attend festivals and concerts to celebrate music, community and joy, yet, too often, those events are overshadowed by tragedy, with lives being cut short due to the consumption of unregulated and dangerous drugs. Harm reduction initiatives, particularly rapid drug-checking services, have been shown to save lives. The question that is before us is not whether those schemes work, because they do, but whether we are willing to act with the urgency and compassion that are needed to bring them here.

Too many families across the North know only too well the devastation of losing a loved one to drugs. As Sinn Féin's spokesperson on suicide prevention, alcohol and addiction issues, I regularly meet families and community organisations who can see and feel the crisis up close. Their message is always the same: many of these tragedies are preventable if we are willing to act.

In previous debates in the Chamber, we have discussed the Jack's Promise campaign by the Brennan family from Lenadoon in west Belfast and the specific issue of residential rehabilitation and providing services for people who are battling with addiction issues. We can pick that up in another conversation with the Minister of Health and his officials following today's debate. It is important, however, to illustrate that the scale of the crisis goes wider than people accidentally dying as a result of taking harmful drugs but encompasses wider drug use and addiction issues and the need for rehabilitation. The point is that we cannot underestimate the scale of the crisis.

The Department of Health's figures show that, in 2022-23, nearly 3,000 people across the North sought help for problems with drug or alcohol use. The detail is stark. More than a third were struggling with drugs alone, and over half were using drugs daily. They were not occasional users but people who were caught in the grip of addiction, living with risk every single day. That is why harm reduction measures, such as rapid drug testing and drug checking, are urgently needed. It is important to be clear about what we mean. Drug checking allows people to anonymously surrender substances at festivals or concerts for on-site analysis. Dangerous or contaminated pills can then be identified, and public warnings can be issued within hours. Rapid drug testing is lab-based, confirms what is circulating more broadly in society and enables health authorities to issue alerts quickly across the community. Both are essential. One protects individuals in the moment, while the other protects the wider public.

In recent correspondence that we shared, the Minister acknowledged the issues and the difficult situation that we are faced with. Even as far back as the launch of the new substance use strategic plan last November, I think that it was, the Minister pointed out that deaths from drugs misuse are almost six times higher in the most deprived communities than in the least deprived areas. He pointed out that really important fact and described it as unacceptable, and he was completely right. However, if we accept that as the unacceptable reality, we must also accept our collective responsibility to act. We need to try to do more and put more measures in place that might save lives. That is the context of the motion. We are calling for the introduction of rapid drug-testing and drug-checking services across the North. We do not need to look too far to see the benefits of such schemes.

The Health Service Executive's Safer Nightlife programme has been running successfully at the Electric Picnic festival in County Laois for four years. Festivalgoers can surrender substances for testing in a health-led, non-judgemental space. Last year, the system identified MDMA pills that contained three times the adult dose. Those were pills that were already causing seizures and admissions to hospitals. Within hours, an alert was issued through the festival app to all attendees, preventing critical harm. That is the point of our motion: to try to prevent deaths by introducing some of those schemes.

That form of testing is referred to as back-of-house testing, where people can drop the drugs off anonymously. It enables the medical experts to see what is circulating and to act quickly, without exposing festivalgoers to criminal risk. That is what a public health Intervention is, but the safest choice is not to take drugs. That is why I warmly welcome the DUP 's Amendment, especially its first line. It is the most important amendment that could have been made to our motion, and I thank you for that. It points out how harmful and dangerous drugs are. That is an important message that we need to get out to the members of the public who may be watching the debate.

The reality for those who choose to take a drug, at whatever stage in their life or in whatever circumstance, is that we are basically trying to provide a safety net that might mean the difference between life and death. Scotland has established a rapid action —.

I thank the Member for giving way. One of the key points that she raised is the desire to ensure that we prevent deaths. Just this morning, I spoke to a mother who lost her young son at a concert in Belfast due to drugs. She talked about the qualifications of those who were employed on-site to monitor the drug overdose, which were wholly inadequate — in fact, some training was lacking. Also, the transportation from the festival to the hospital was so bad that she believes that it contributed to her son's death. Does the Member believe that that issue should also be looked into with urgency?

Yes, I do, and I thank the Member for that Intervention. It is important that we pick up on that type of feedback, such as from that family, who, sadly, have already gone through that devastation. We absolutely need to put in place all the measures that we can to try to prevent those deaths. It was worrying to hear about that young person possibly not being transported to hospital in a timely manner. Training is critical. When we talk about introducing such schemes, we need to introduce them in the right way, and whoever is involved in that work needs to be required to have sufficient skills to deal with such a situation. Thank you very much for providing that wee bit of feedback, Jonathan.

We know that those models are already in place across Britain and in the South. I have spoken to the Minister and to his predecessor about the Queen's University pilot model that was put in place by the university, Forensic Science NI and the PSNI, all of which have been part of the discussions up to this point. Queen's University indicated that equipment for the rapid drug-testing pilot and the testing facility could be procured for a relatively modest capital investment of £220,000. Comparing that with hospital beds makes it clear that that investment is feasible. Some positive steps have been taken. Critically, the Public Health Agency has rolled out a nitazene testing-strip programme across all needle exchange sites and, more recently, it introduced fentanyl strips in areas where those drugs are most prevalent. In response to a question recently, the Minister gave an update on NSPdirect, which is the confidential postal service that is now available. Those are all very important initiatives, and all those measures show what can be done and the difference that we can make to try to protect people.

Basically, the motion calls for additional drug-testing and drug-checking schemes. The important thing is to get real-time analysis, particularly at large scale-events where substances can circulate very quickly and the risk therefore increases. The motion also calls for a joined-up system that can identify dangerous substances within hours and issue alerts to protect the public. It is not about condoning drug use but facing the reality that people will take drugs in certain circumstances and that we need to make their doing that as safe as possible.

The Minister has often spoken about tackling stigma, and I completely agree with him on that. He is totally right that stigma will drive people into further harm, making it harder for families to get support. If we are serious about moving beyond stigma —

Time is up.

— we need to embrace evidence-based, public health approaches.

Thank you.

I beg to move the following Amendment:

Leave out all after "this Assembly" and insert: "recognises that there are no safe ways of taking illegal drugs; acknowledges the role of harm reduction initiatives in preventing drug-related deaths at festivals and concerts; believes that this must complement the existing PSNI approach of identifying, arresting and placing before the courts those involved in the supply of illicit drugs; further acknowledges that the Health Service Executive’s (HSE) rapid drug-checking schemes have operated successfully at events in the Republic of Ireland, such as Electric Picnic, for a number of years, providing warnings to concertgoers on potent and potentially lethal substances; notes the ongoing work between the PSNI, Forensic Science Northern Ireland (FSNI) and Queen’s University to develop a rapid drug-testing scheme that would enable harmful drugs to be identified and public alerts issued within 24 hours; further notes that we remain the only part of these islands without such provisions; stresses the need for collaboration between the forensic science laboratory at Seapark, the Health Service Executive in the Republic of Ireland and the Home Office, in relation to developing the capacity to deliver, and license, onsite drug testing at festivals across Northern Ireland; and calls on the Minister of Health to confirm when these schemes will be rolled out by his Department in conjunction with the relevant agencies."

Thank you. You have 10 minutes to propose the Amendment and five minutes in which to make a winding-up speech. All other Members who are called to speak will have five minutes. Please open the debate on the amendment.

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for allowing that time. I applaud the proposers of the motion on drug-testing schemes.

This is a vital issue that affects so many families and puts families into absolute despair. Families are in despair when are dealing with addiction; families are in despair when they get involved in the criminal justice system; families are in despair when they are involved in health emergencies; and families are in absolute despair when they lose a loved one. We all know someone who has been affected in some way by drug abuse, so it is really important that the Assembly and the Executive tackle this very important and critical issue. We should be here to save lives, and this is one topic on which we could do something good.

We in the DUP think that the issue is so important that we had it in our manifesto:

"We will invest in anti-drug programmes, through both justice and education, to tackle the scourge of drugs in all their forms, in our communities, and provide greater support for those at risk of suicide."

We also thought it important to build on the motion. I appreciate the kind words from the proposer of the motion about what we have done to add to the motion through our Amendment. The first line of the amendment changes the motion to make it read that the Assembly:

"recognises that there are no safe ways of taking illegal drugs", and that any:

"harm reduction initiatives ... must complement the existing PSNI approach of identifying, arresting and placing before the courts those involved in the supply of illicit drugs".

There was a wee bit of uproar in my Constituency a number of weeks ago when the Public Health Agency (PHA) put out its drug-taking advice. In one way, I can understand why the PHA felt that it needed to offer that advice. It used the words:

"If you choose to use drugs: Dose low and go slow Stick to one drug Never use alone".

I suppose that it is important that that message gets out there, but there are so many people in my community who thought that that was irresponsible, because those are words that you would imagine a drug addict using to advise a fellow drug addict on how to take drugs. That may well be something that they would say to a fellow addict. There is a very fine balance, and I am not sure that the PHA got it right. It caused a lot of alarm in my community. It illustrated to the public out there that, in some quarters of governance, there is nearly an admission of defeat when it comes to law enforcement addressing drug taking and drug abuse.

I thank the Member for giving way. I share the concern about encouraging anybody to take drugs, no matter whether it is one type or another. I raised the example earlier of the death of my young constituent. The mother described to me how the police action has been limited due to lack of resource and how authorisation is pending from a senior officer on whether to allocate funds to take on the case. Does the Member agree that that is a wholly inadequate approach for a mother who is grieving the loss of a son?

Yes, I do agree, for one simple reason: when you speak to the police commanders and officers, no matter in what guise, whether through the district policing partnerships, as they were known in my time, or the policing and community safety partnerships, they always talk about going to the market and to the place where they believe that criminals are active or where a police presence is needed. I cannot think of anywhere more important than at a festival. There should be a police presence at that festival to investigate, detect and remove drugs.

Let us be under no illusion: the people who the criminal justice system should target are the drug dealers.

They peddle that poison in our communities, destroying lives and people, because, inevitably, people die because they take drugs.

The harm caused by drugs is very real for individuals, families, communities and public services. There were 1,771 drug-related deaths in Northern Ireland between 2013 and 2023, including 169 in 2023 alone. Furthermore, in the 12 months ending on 30 June 2025, there were 6,769 drug seizures and 3,049 drug-related arrests. Behind each of those statistics is a personal story: the pain of the families left bereaved; the grief that never ends; and the endless lives ruined by addiction or by involvement in criminality. We accept that there is a role for taking a harm-reduction approach, but that must not cross a line or be perceived to be condoning or normalising illicit drug use in any setting, let alone settings in which children or young people are found. Drugs that are seized must not be returned, and in no circumstances should advice be issued on the so-called safe use of drugs. That is where such approaches cross the line.

A strong police response, targeting the sources of supply, disrupting drug trafficking, prosecuting those responsible and ensuring that the courts have the tools and guidance to hand down appropriate custodial sentences, must also be a priority. Arrangements for testing must not fetter police investigations or, indeed, be viewed as cause for police visibility to be reduced in concert spaces. I raise that point following the Intervention from my colleague Jonny Buckley earlier. The police should not leave the scene because there are medical experts on-site. Rather, the two must work hand in hand, complementing each other in order to keep people safe.

Moreover, we need to see a prevention-first response from the Executive. The motion deals with the final stage of the journey. It assumes that illicit drugs are in circulation. We know that they are. That should not be the extent of our ambition, however. It is simply not good enough to say, "There are drugs out there, and people will always take drugs illegally, so what can we do about it?". The truth is that we can do a lot more. We can do a lot more to keep people safe through police enforcement, but we can also do more in a medical context.

I thank the Member for giving way. I totally agree with him on the point about having a police presence, but, after concerts, they often fail to follow up on evidence for prosecuting those who peddle drugs to vulnerable individuals.

That absolutely needs to be addressed. We know that there are multitudes of young people at festivals at which drugs are in circulation. From time to time, there are really dangerous substances out there that are stronger than other drugs. Although we must get the message out that all drug taking is wrong, irresponsible and dangerous, there are occasions on which lethal batches of drugs are out there that will do massive damage to our young people and even kill them. More intelligence gathering has to be done. There therefore should be collaborative working undertaken between medical and education experts and the police enforcement agencies. At no time should anyone surrender drugs and then be given them back. Once we get drugs out of circulation, we should keep them out of circulation. Every pill that is taken out of circulation could save one person's life, so it is worth it.

We support the motion and hope to see real progress made in future. It would be good to save a family from going through the pain that we have all witnessed families go through. It is awful for them to watch a family member experience addiction. Support is then needed. A criminal sanction may be required, so —

The Member's time is up

— that young person then enters the criminal justice system. They may even die.

OK. Your time is up.

I thank Órlaithí and the other Sinn Féin MLAs for tabling this important motion. We have attended many events at which we have spoken to people who have lost loved ones to drugs and substance overdose. It is a serious issue across our society, so it is good that we are debating it today and thinking about what we can do about it. I also thank the DUP for tabling its Amendment, which we will support as well.

We all know that illegal drugs should be condemned. I unequivocally believe that the first approach should be to recognise their harm and not partake. That is the ideal. The reality, however, is that drug use happens no matter how much we disagree with it. We cannot deny that, so, if we want to save lives, we need to give serious consideration to how models such as drug checking can be adapted and introduced in Northern Ireland in a meaningful way to tackle the crisis that we face.

We need to face facts. Northern Ireland has the second-highest rate of drug-related deaths in the UK after Scotland. Young adults aged 25 to 34 account for the largest share of drug-related deaths in Northern Ireland, and the death rate in that age group has more than doubled in the past decade. We cannot ignore the fact that that is happening. While I agree that there is no safe way of taking drugs, and I urge anyone who is considering taking drugs never to do so, I recognise that it is easy for us to say those words and consider our moral slate clean without taking real and holistic steps to address the wider issues in society.

Without testing, you can never be sure of what is in a substance or be sure of its strength. That is the point of testing: it is done so that people can make an informed decision. No one deserves to die because they have made a mistake or a bad decision. This is not about international drug gangs and the mass supply of illegal drugs; it is about young people at festivals who are not educated on the harm of drug use and who, if they spoke to someone in a safe environment, free from judgement and harm, may make a more informed decision.

Research by Queen's University has made it clear that there is an urgent need for enhanced services, including immediate access to drug testing. Preventative measures such as that are health-centred rather than punishment-centred and are based on evidence rather than fear. In a survey of nearly 1,200 Irish festivalgoers that was conducted by the Irish Journal of Medical Science, 87% admitted to using more than one substance. Strikingly, 93% said that they would be willing to use independent drug-checking services. That willingness tells us something important, which is that people are open to making safer choices when they are given the tools and the information to do so.

Drug checking acknowledges the reality that people take drugs and that young people will experiment. It provides people, especially young people, with the chance to make informed decisions. Education about risks will always be vital, but so, too, is empathy and honesty. Drugs are easily available across all our communities, whether rural or urban. They are imported into Northern Ireland in huge amounts every week and are taken by many people across our society. There is a huge black market industry here; ultimately, if there were no market for drugs, that would not exist. I encourage young people in particular to seek out reliable information on drugs, and I highlight Talk to Frank as a confidential website on which to do so. Initiatives such as The Loop, the UK's first systematic drug-checking service, have shown what can be achieved by analysing substances and providing tailored advice. That service not only helps individuals to avoid immediate harm but collects intelligence that can inform wider public health responses. Even the police, who are experienced in drug crime, back that stance. Jason Kew, the former violence reduction unit, drugs, exploitation and harm reduction lead —

I thank the Member for taking a quick Intervention. Does he agree that sharing such information is vital and that recent police initiatives to alert people when they get access to drug dealers' communications have been positive? Does he also agree that the police should be commended for taking a different approach because it is not always just a criminal justice matter and that it has to be done in conjunction with health?

The Member has an extra minute.

Thank you. Yes, I absolutely agree, and I will add that rapidly getting the alarms out and getting the information to the public can save lives. The quicker that those messages can be put into circulation, the quicker that people can be informed to avoid making the wrong decisions.

Jason Kew, from Thames Valley Police, said:

"Drug checking is reducing drug use through knowledge, harm reduction and welfare, and for a considerable number of people who are receiving this information for the first time in their lives, drug checking is crucially saving lives. This approach isn't about acquiescing or normalising drug use, this is about proactive harm reduction and it is achieving positive results. A single drug related death is one too many."

There is a lot to be said about that response. Essentially, it is not about morality; it is about protecting life. Drug checking is health-centred and evidence-based, and it deserves serious consideration here in Northern Ireland. If even one life can be saved, it is worth it.

From the outset, something that can never be overemphasised is the fact that there is no such thing as safe drug taking. Every illicit drug carries with it the potential to harm and devastate families. Too many lives in Northern Ireland have already been cut short by substances, for which society may have thought the risk was limited, but, in reality, are laced with danger. As a parent or grandparent, watching our loved ones excitedly leave the house to go to a festival is a common occurrence. For some people, it is a rite of passage. In that excitement, we also consider what would be any family's worst nightmare — young people whose promise will never be fulfilled because of a single pill swallowed in a field or a powder taken at a party; a moment's action with potentially life-changing consequences. As far as I am concerned, there is no such thing as too much awareness or too much focus placed on preventing those drugs from being consumed or brought to festivals in the first place.

Yet, as legislators, we are also confronted with the stark truth that drugs are present at concerts, festivals and a multitude of other social locations. They are circulating, and they are being taken. To pretend otherwise would be to close our eyes to the reality on the ground. That is why the debate matters. We have seen in the Republic of Ireland, through the Health Service Executive's drug-checking scheme, that rapid testing at festivals can identify highly potent or contaminated substances. Importantly, those warnings are not a green light for drug use; they are a red light flashing urgently to tell as many people as possible who might pick it up that this substance could kill you or at least cause you some serious harm. That is the distinction that we must grasp.

Instinctively, the call for a similar service in Northern Ireland is compelling, and I note the important work under way here between the PSNI, Forensic Science Northern Ireland and Queen's University. However, of course and understandably, any decision or process about a Northern Ireland testing scheme is likely to be much more complex than it may at first appear. We could do nothing without the necessary expert Home Office approval, and, again, I stress that our first and foremost priority should remain on the prevention of drug taking in the first place. The safest option is never to take drugs at all. That message must remain at the heart of our public health strategy. Alongside prevention, education and enforcement, we must be responsive to other steps that can demonstrably save lives. That is why my party and I are happy to support the motion and receive an update from the Minister.

In the meantime, I hope that the PSNI will continue to pursue those evil people who are making fortunes out of peddling a range of addictive poisons to our citizens.

The Business Committee has agreed to meet at 1.00 pm today. I propose, therefore, by leave of the Assembly, to suspend the sitting until 2.00 pm. The debate will continue after Question Time when the next Member to be called will be Colin McGrath.

The debate stood suspended.

The sitting was suspended at 12.58 pm.

On resuming (Mr Speaker in the Chair) —