Leo Vardakar under fire for saying the Government may reject Citizens' Assembly on Drugs findings

Answering a question in the Dáil yesterday from People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Gino Kenny, the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that there shouldn’t be “any assumption” that the Government will implement the findings of the current Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs.

Leo Varadkar has told the Dáil that there should be "no assumption" his Government will accept the recommendations made by the Citizens' Assembly on Drugs.#CADrugsUse pic.twitter.com/yjTFJ9nEUD

— Crainn (@r_crainn) July 6, 2023

The exchange went as follows…

Gino Kenny: “This is a very important issue and a very important assembly. The early indications are that the citizens are moving towards a more progressive approach around drug use – and that’s very welcome and, I think, a reflection of society. The big question, Taoiseach, is: Whatever the recommendations are, will the government, in its lifetime, give a commitment towards legislation in relation to those recommendations? Without changing the law, we’re back to square one.”

Leo Vardkar: “When it makes its recommendations, they will be considered by Government in good faith. There’s no obligation on Government or the Oireachtas to accept every recommendation made. That wouldn’t be right. What we will do is take any recommendations that are made seriously, consider them properly in good faith and then issue a reasoned response. But there shouldn’t be any assumption or obligation on any democratically elected parliament or government to accept every recommendation that a body makes. It wouldn’t be right or make sense in my view.”

Having slept on his answer, Gino Kenny says today: “Leo Varadkar seems to have his mind made up before the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs has even had a chance to conclude and present their findings. Decrim makes sense. It's about time our government acknowledged that prohibition has failed.”

Responding to those same remarks, Hot Press Assistant Editor, Stuart Clark, states: “It’s an appalling thing for the Taoiseach to say while the process is still live. Talking to a number of people who’ve made submissions to the assembly, the citizens themselves are playing a blinder and have displayed a nuanced grasp of the evidence. Some of our politicians, less so… If I were one of the 99 citizen members who are giving so generously of their time, I’d consider Mr. Varadkar’s comments to be a real slap in the face.”

Meanwhile, Blindboy describes his Dáil comments as “Leo Varadkar admitting that he considers the Citizens' Assembly on Drugs to be a performative gesture and not a representation of democracy.”

Those sentiments are echoed by Cannabis Reform Ireland who accuse the Taoiseach of “Totally undermining the process. If I was a Citizen, good enough to give up my weekends for months at a time, for the betterment of society, I'd be feeling totally defeated right about now. Like the entire process is pointless. I'd be considering my position, could I continue?”

The Cráinn organisation, who submitted to the CA last month, proffers: "The Taoiseach is completely unwilling to talk straight to the public on drug policy. We have had numerous Dáil debates, committee meetings, working groups and reports over the years on drugs, they all end up with the same conclusion. Stop criminalising people."