Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)

I wish to inform the Minister of State that crack cocaine is in my area in Tallaght so there is a problem in that regard. I welcome the fact the Minister of State has visited other centres. There is a need to erect a firewall to stop the spread of this drug, which has the added danger of the violence that is associated with it. A number of pilot drug treatment schemes have been launched in Dublin, which are currently being assessed and evaluated. In my area, more than 100 people are attending one such programme but it is up for evaluation and we have been told it will close in April. A sum of €80,000 in funding was provided for this project for six months but it has been running for 14 months. I realise the Minister of State is seeking responses from the projects but is there a date for the conclusion of the evaluation process? The sooner it is concluded the better. One of the key areas we need to address involves the use of cocaine and crack cocaine.

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