Unless the law is changed or tested in court, the so-called Head Shops will continue to be treated as “just another type of shop”, a planning official with Donegal County Council has insisted.
Reacting to a proposal from councillor Frank McBrearty
at Tuesday’s meeting of the Stranorlar Electoral Area committee calling for a Government ban on the shops which sell ‘legal highs’, the Council’s Area Manager for Planning and Development, Paul Christy compared such shops under the current planning legislation to those selling fruit and vegetables.
“Unless the law is changed or unless it is tested in court somewhere, as it is, it’s just another type of shop,” he pointed out.
The issue was raised by Cllr. McBrearty who highlighted the presence in Ballybofey of an adult shop which was, allegedly, selling head shop products.
“I propose that we write to the three Ministers - the Tánaiste, Justice and Health departments - to put the pressure on the Government to pass legislation to ban head shops.”
Clr. McBrearty also asked that the Council write to head shops and ask what they were selling to young people.
Pointing out that it was national problem at this stage, Sinn Fein’s Cllr. Cora Harvey voiced support for the proposal.
But Area Manager for the Council’s Corporate Services, Gerry Gilroy, said he couldn’t write to the Ministers on behalf of the Authority as it required the proposal to be put in the form of a motion before the full County Council meeting and not coming from a sub-committee such as the Stranorlar Electoral Area committee. It was not, he added, the function of the Council officials to write to ask what the shops were selling.
Commented Cllr. McBrearty: “We all have families here. Protesting outside these shops is not going to work. But it affects all of us with families in this room.”
Cllr. Patrick McGowan said the issue should be brought before the full Council meeting. He revealed that the Government had moved in the past few days to ban “certain items” that were on sale in the head shops.
Cllr. McBrearty said the issue of selling legal highs needed to be exposed and called on the five representatives of the Stranorlar E.A. to write to the Ministers calling for a complete ban.
“Legal highs lead to illegal drugs,” he claimed.
