It is unfair to claim Irish society is "drug-ridden and booze-ridden" because some children have said they sampled drugs, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has insisted.
He rejected claims by Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny that there was a drugs crisis following the publication of a report which puts Ireland number one in the world for the proportion of girls under 15 who have tried drugs.
Mr Kenny said the report was a "damning indictment of the state of society" as far as teenagers were concerned.
However, Mr Ahern dismissed this and said that "if a child of 14 tries one fag or one drink it doesn't make them a compulsive smoker or an alcoholic".
The report, The State of the Nation's Children, shows that four out of 10 children under 15 have sampled drugs, and that Ireland is third in the world for the numbers of children under 15 who have sampled drugs.
Mr Ahern said "a total of 40 per cent of teenagers sampled drugs. They are not on drugs. They are not junkies or winos."
He criticised the Opposition for trying "to twist the figures".
"I do not believe all our young people are either drinking or on drugs, or that every community is riddled with drugs. I do not believe that. I do not see it."
He believed the report "does not contain any new information".
"It is a compilation of existing data on areas of children's lives that have been identified as important indicators of their well-being."
He also criticised the media for negative coverage, and called on them to report positive findings such as that by the World Health Organisation that Irish children are second in the world "in terms of being physically active and involved in recreation and sport".
The Government had invested heavily in its national drug strategy and "activity is the solution to the problem".
"We must provide resources for sport and recreation in the widest sense. Whether it's tiddlywinks or sophisticated field sport doesn't matter - each one is helpful."
Mr Kenny said "we have known for a long time that young teenagers are regularly getting hammered on drink. We know now from a report being published today that they are also getting high on drugs."
He said Fr Peter McVerry, a priest who works with homeless youths, had said "drugs are apparently available within five minutes of any location".
He added: "The respectable end of Ireland, according to reports, regularly snorts vast quantities of white powder, namely cocaine."
He asked Mr Ahern what state Irish society had to reach "before he realises the reality of what is happening and for him to agree there is a crisis that needs to be addressed".
Mr Ahern said he accepted "people are addicted to drugs but let's not try to use figures for those who might have sampled drugs once in their life and accuse them of being addicted".
The Government had devised and invested people and resources in a national drugs strategy and about 500 projects had been funded.
