Micheál Martin’s party said Ireland should follow the approach taken by countries such as Spain, Portugal and Malta, where legal restrictions on cannabis have been eased.

However, Fine Gael pushed back against the plan, with Mr Harris saying he believed there needed to be a health-focused approach to drug addiction, but disagreed with decriminalizing casual use of drugs.

“Do we really want to get to a point in Irish society, really want to get to a point where we decriminalize drug use? I’m not sure, and definitely not,” Mr. Harris said.

“I think when it comes to things like drugs and decriminalization, I think we need to be very careful about those things.

“I would be very interested to hear the ICGP’s perspective. What does the Order of General Practitioners think of the proposal to decriminalize drugs?

Mr Harris said Fianna Fáil needed to define which drugs they believed should be decriminalized and how many would be covered under their regimes.

Is there a certain amount of drugs you can smoke or take as part of this plan? We haven’t heard many details. It’s a sensitive question, it’s an important question.

He added that the government had taken initiatives dealing with smoking and vaping for public health reasons, but such a development regarding cannabis would be counterintuitive.

“It seems counterintuitive to me that mixed messages are being sent about cannabis, because I think cannabis poses real health dangers.

“There is also a big difference between addiction and more casual drug use.

“People who have addiction in this country, whatever that addiction is…people deserve to be treated with absolute compassion and a health approach.”

Mr Harris’ comments are contrary to a recent cross-party Oireachtas report on drug use, which recommended the Government take steps to introduce regulation on some illicit drugs, particularly cannabis.

The report also recommends that the government introduce a health-focused approach, alongside the decriminalization of the individual in relation to the possession of illicit drugs for personal use.