Eminent Barrister & Fine Gael Justice Spokesperson, Alan Shatter TD has called Government legislation on banning head shops, “deeply flawed”.
“Over the last few months, the prevalence of head shops and their potential deadly products has been in the headlines because or repeated failures of the Government to close them down. First we had Minister Harney banning a range of products, only for the ingredients to be changed slightly, followed by Minister Ahern drawing up a flawed piece of legislation which will require the matter to go through the courts before the headshop is closed.
“I believe that this is a hugely unnecessary delay to the process which can be overcome.
“Fine Gael will table amendments to the legislation in the Dail to ensure that Gardaí can apply without delay to the courts to close down headshops who are selling psychoactive substances. I believe that Government must accept these amendments if they are serious about removing this problem from our society.