THERE was a matter of personal responsibility on the part of individuals choosing to use drugs, the "Taoiseach said.

"It is very important that people should exercise their own personal responsibility and not start using these substances which destroy not only their own lives but, frequently, also the lives of those who love them," Mr Bruton added.

He was responding in the Dail, on the Order of Business, to the Fianna Fail leader, Mr Bertie Ahern, who referred to the drugs crisis and the rising number of murders, particularly of women.

Mr Bruton said he appreciated the concern in the Dail about the number of murders that occurred and the level of substance abuse. "Both of these are matters of great concern. Obviously, in regard to both of the issues concerned, the requirement is for the most effective possible respect for, and enforcement of existing legislation. That is the priority as far as the gardai and the other authorities are concerned.

There was a particular problem with international traffic in drugs, which was generating on the street marketing to increase demand. He was anxious that the EU should make progress in the international field on the supply of drugs.

He also believed that there should be, greater uniformity of penalties for drug related offences throughout the EU so that no one country could become, because of its penalties being lower, an attractive location for the international management of drug traffic.

Mr Ahern said that there was a drugs problem in the prisons, which had not started yesterday. ,All over towns in urban and rural Ireland people were breaking the existing laws by selling drugs openly. "We need to start taking the issue seriously before it goes totally out of control."

Mr Bruton said that a special sub committee of the Committee on Legislation and Security was already considering the matter, and he believed that it was the wish of the House that it would intensify its work.

There were two dimensions to the problem supply and demand. As far as supply was concerned, he thought it very important that action be taken to deal with the international activities. On demand, emphasis must be placed on the education of people so that they realised the appalling choice they were making, from their own point of view, if they used drugs for the first time.

Earlier, the Fianna Fail leader said that every member of the House was aware, from the massive number of meetings taking place all over the country by concerned citizens, about the drugs situation.