Ms Anna Quigley:

In 1996, when the first drugs strategy was brought out with the Rabbitte report, there was clear recognition of the crisis that existed at that time, which came to public attention through the death of Veronica Guerin. There was a huge political response and drugs were seen as a priority issue. The national drugs strategy at the time set out very clearly the principles people have been speaking about today, such as inter-agency operations, work at a local level in local communities to tackle the problems and community engagement. All of these principles were clearly set out. There was also clear recognition that the issues of disadvantage and poverty needed to be tackled. This was clearly stated in the drugs strategy.

Unfortunately, what happens is that such a strategy gets a few years in the sun, and for several years it was a critical priority. I remember it was one of the top five issues in the manifestoes for the 1997 general election. By 2002, however, it had disappeared as an issue. Unfortunately, once structures are established, which is what happened with task forces and national committees through the national drugs strategy, there is often a sense, politically, that the job has been done. However, setting up the structures is only the start of the job. While in principle we still have the same structures, inter-agency operation and community involvement, in practice, we no longer have the commitment to it at political level. This feeds through to Departments, where there is no longer the same commitment either, and to the people who have responsibility for making decisions.

We still have the strategy and structures, but the implementation is very weak and the problem is no longer viewed as being rooted in disadvantage and poverty. In our experience, the drugs issue is now seen as a problem that individuals have that needs to be dealt with. This completely negates the reality of what we are discussing, which is the impact on communities. The fundamental principles of the drugs strategy are excellent, but over time the commitment to implementing it has dwindled as it has become a lower political priority. This morning, everyone has restated these principles as being key.

If we are to tackle the issue of intimidation, and the broader issues, it is time these were re-established as priority issues.