Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

The problem of cocaine and crack cocaine has become rampant recently and there has been an explosion in usage. Cocaine was scarcely used in the 1990s. In 1994, Garda seizures of cocaine were worth €4,672 but, in 2003, they were worth €10,915,786. A total of 167.5 kg of cocaine was seized last year with a value of approximately €500,000 per kilogram. It is estimated that the former figure has doubled again and that there is an Irish cocaine market of approximately €200 million. Crack cocaine, which scarcely existed two years ago, has become a common feature. Recently, there was a major seizure of crack cocaine in Phibsborough, one of a number of seizures that are becoming widespread.

I was contacted and asked to enter the Moore Street traders' market in the heart of Dublin recently. Various sites and persons involved in trading cocaine were pointed out to me. The gardaí are increasing their presence in the area. However, we are effectively experiencing an epidemic of a new hard drug that scarcely existed in this country in 2000. Where it did, it only existed among so-called celebrities, the middle classes, pop stars, etc. Now, it runs rampant through the country.

The situation is different in many ways. The price of cocaine in 2000 was double the price of cocaine today, which is exactly how heroin spread throughout Ireland. Prices fell to the price of cannabis in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Pushers have done the same with cocaine, namely, halving prices. Currently, it is €70 per gram whereas it cost more than double this figure five years ago. It differs from the importers and traffickers or heroin and cannabis, where a number of major figures operating outside the country existed, because, in this instance, there is a large number of small operators who are travelling the length and breadth of Ireland. As such, there is a much larger network and its use is spreading more rapidly.

Nothing has been done by the Government in respect of this matter. The Minister of State at the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs with special responsibility for drugs strategy and community affairs, Deputy Noel Ahern, put on record in 2002 that he did not regard the incidence of cocaine availability as warranting any action. Now, it is a major illegal industry here. The Minister of State must acknowledge this fact. We must refurbish, restructure and increase the number of personnel in the drugs squad because we have a new drug problem.

Heroin is widely available at present, which is why we still have addicts, but a new drug is bringing into play a whole spectrum of new addicts. The younger brothers and sisters of those who were on heroin almost regard cocaine as something exciting and safe, whereas heroin was different. A new generation is being turned onto a drug that is supposedly relatively safe, as it is perceived as the drug of the celebrity. This is not the case. It is extremely difficult to deal with in that it is more difficult for a person to undergo detox for cocaine than heroin and it is exploding in terms of its availability and use.

While we do not yet have the relevant figures for 2005 but which are thought to be twice 2004's, the seizure of 167 kg last year is only the tip of the iceberg. The Garda Síochána recognise that the most it expects to see is only 10% to 15%. Before it is too late, let us not continue to bury our heads in the sand and pretend this new epidemic is not upon us. Let us take some robust action for a change to try to deal with this issue.

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