Tony Gregory (Dublin Central, Independent)

Next weekend a local drugs unit comprising a sergeant and five gardaí will be established for the first time in the Minister of State's constituency, perhaps due to his position. From P. J. "The Psycho" Judge to Marlo Hyland, that area has been to the forefront of the drugs crisis and has suffered more than most. I raised a number of Dáil questions concerning the establishment of such a unit in the area because it is common sense to focus resources such as gardaí in areas with the highest incidence of and greatest problems with drug crime. However, this simple logic seems to have escaped the Garda. It would not have done so were the Garda under any form of democratic control, a direction in which we must head. The people, local representatives and local authorities see what is occurring on the ground at first hand. The Garda must work hand-in-hand and under the direction of locally and democratically elected people representing the areas.

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