Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

I will certainly give consideration to what the Deputy is saying. The Garda Síochána has been very successful in targeting drug gangs and drug criminals in recent months, and in intercepting very substantial amounts of drugs. As I have the opportunity to do so, I would like to congratulate the Garda on a haul of cannabis yesterday evening with an approximate value of €1.7 million. It is very important that the Garda targets those at the highest level who are engaged in drug dealing and who are preying on young people. They would have my absolute support in doing that, as long as we can enhance co-operation between local communities and the Garda, or enhance the interaction at local authority level between councils on the ground and members of the Garda.

From feedback I have received, some policing committees are working better than others, depending on the local authority. Some more work needs to be done on that, and I will give it until the end of the year. At that stage I intend to communicate with local authorities to get some overall national feedback on the number of times per year committees are meeting, and the nature of the engagement that is taking place to ensure that it is constructive and beneficial to the community and to the Garda. The committees must also be responsive in the sense that when local representatives are able to focus on a particular problem in their area, there is an appropriate response, where possible, to address it.

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