Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)

I am concerned about the direction sometimes taken by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. The integrity of the CAB should be retained and many of us have supported that system for a long time, dating back to the drugs crisis in the 1980s when there was a heroin epidemic across the north inner city. There are now major problems with cocaine and young women in my constituency have been shot.

I commend people such as the late Máire Buckley, who was killed on Sunday in a tragic incident involving a bus. She was one of those teachers who worked in the inner city and was dedicated to the most disadvantaged children in the north inner city. She was also one of those people who believed that the proceeds of the CAB should be spent on early education services, children with special needs and children at risk. I express my sympathy to her family.

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