Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

I accept that cocaine use is a growing problem. That is why we introduced the four projects. I mentioned the one in the Deputy's area. All four projects are in Dublin and one of them concerns the training and upskilling of people in statutory employment and local drugs task forces to deal with what is a new and growing problem. Cocaine use does not show up much in overall national surveys, but I accept it is a significant issue. The pilot projects will continue to be such for six or nine months to determine whether they are good and valuable and whether they help people on the ground.

We announced the emerging needs fund and other projects that the local drugs task forces want to put forward in this regard. They will have the opportunity to do so. A very good awareness campaign was engaged in lately. It targeted nightclubs and pubs and tried through the use of beer mats to get the message through to people.

We are not being slow. Some complained we were moving too quickly. We are trying to move forward by way of partnership whereby all community groups involved will be with us. We have extra funding this year and have asked for suggestions regarding initiatives the groups want to implement locally. We are trying to act on this and I hope we can deal with the problem.

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