Damien English (Meath, Fine Gael)

It does not. Every station needs a person dedicated to combating illegal drugs crime. As it takes so long to get a result in a drug crime, to keep detection figures up, many stations put their efforts into combating other areas of crime. Will the Minister of State bring this to the attention of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform?

The Minister of State claims the money is available but there is no more he can do. I believe he is interested in tackling the drugs problem. Will he take charge and demand results? The strategy needs to be driven. We waited long enough for the recommendations of the mid-term review. We cannot wait any longer to spend the money. The Minister of State must take an active involvement in spending the allocated money and pushing the strategy. I am concerned it lacks drive. The Minister of State is the man to drive the strategy. There is no point in saying the money is available. I want to see it spent with results.

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