Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That is welcome. I have spoken to people in the communities in the middle of the areas affected by the gangland feud. The presence of the armed support unit, as well as the regular units, and the visibility of the issue helps the situation. The problem occurs when things are relaxed to an extent. There is a visibility issue when the armed support unit withdraws from certain areas and that puts people in those communities under pressure and stress. The planned expansion is very welcome.

Another linked issue is the epidemic of drugs and the connected gangland consequences. Is the Commissioner satisfied with the number of drugs units that we have? There seems to be a deficit in parts of Dublin and units are having to spill over between areas and districts. What are the Commissioner's plans to expand the drugs units? There is clearly a major drugs problem. Deputy O'Callaghan mentioned earlier that many people do not at first connect their own behaviour with the spraying of bullets around the city. That is a major issue and probably goes beyond the remit of the Commissioner. These are probably people who are criticising the lack of Garda visibility and the severity of the gangland situation. At the same time these are people who indulge in ongoing drug use. That is the hypocrisy and contradiction that we have but that is aside from the responsibility of the Commissioner.

Regarding the drugs issue, there has been a massive increase in the consumption of drugs. That is evident on the streets of Dublin city centre and in the suburbs. An EU report recognised that and stated that Ireland has one of the highest growth levels of drugs intake. How is An Garda Síochána responding to that issue, in particular to the gangland aspect? I also refer to the middle tier and we have seen how the "Uberisation" of drugs has put drug dealing in a different space. What is the technological response from the Garda? It is not only a matter of street dealing any more. How can the Garda penetrate the networks and deal with the technology that is now involved in modern drug dealing? How do the drug units respond to that at the local and regional levels?