Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputy for raising the matter, with which I am becoming more familiar. I also thank him for the initiatives he has taken together with Councillor Carter and the Lord Mayor of Dublin. This issue has proved difficult to resolve for a long time. I am extremely anxious to engage with the group over the next number of weeks to reach a conclusion because the next round of applications for funding under the young people's facilities and services fund is due. This is the vehicle through which projects such as this can be delivered. I am well aware of the needs of Kilbarrack because I was involved in youth work in the area many years ago. It is a vibrant community. This issue was divisive previously but a great deal of common ground has been found and I will undertake with my officials to engage with the Deputy over the next two weeks in order that we can come to a solution to the problem.

As the Deputy said, the Le Chéile project in Donnycarney could be used as a model and it is probably what Kilbarrack needs. Now that we are embarking on the next phase of the national drugs strategy, which is public consultation, the issues of drug misuse and polydrug use are as important to be addressed in Kilbarrack as everywhere else. We must also invest in prevention and harm reduction because prevention is better than cure. Earlier I attended the launch of an awareness programme by the Merchants Quay Project together with Deputies Rabbitte, Ó Snodaigh and a number of others, which focuses on needle exchange and harm reduction. Every community must come to grips with the challenge it faces and Kilbarrack has done its share in that regard. I will communicate with Deputy Broughan in the coming week and I undertake to sit down with my officials to find a resolution to this pressing issue.

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