Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)

On reflection, will the Minister of State accept that part of the difficulty was that projects and task forces were not told that €1 million would be available from the emerging needs fund? The Minister of State mentioned 600 people. The message I get is that the natural development of many projects is being stymied by the fact that funding has not been available. I am a member of a drugs task force in my area and am quite aware of the difficulties there. Dublin is awash with drugs, and the same is true of towns and villages throughout Ireland.

The Minister of State has stressed that 600 people are working on projects, but many grew from the failure of the State to respond to emerging needs and the drug problem. The feeling is that we are failing to support those communities. The Minister of State is out of sync with what is occurring with the drugs problem throughout the State. That is why people are up in arms, frustrated, angry and beginning to march again. No one wishes to march, but we should support those communities rather than holding them back. That is the view of the groups to whom I have spoken. The Minister of State is holding them back by meanness in handing out money. The sum of €4.5 million is buttons compared with the problem, and we must support those communities.

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