Declan Breathnach (Louth, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In recent days the decent people of Drogheda have had their town described as gangland-gripped. That is evident from the seriousness of the need to cancel Garda leave in the Louth division. The escalation of thuggery and crime in Drogheda was foreseen and flagged by me to An Garda Síochána and acknowledged as far back as last June. My concern was based on meeting people who were caught up in incredible fear and intimidation. They were sucked in, some relatively innocently, into the crossfire of these vicious criminals. Many of these young people have never come to the attention of An Garda Síochána before and many more continue to be sucked into the criminal underworld. Some subsequently have had to seek anonymity and emigrate while their families continue to be intimidated by these gangs seeking retribution for the debts which they have cleverly and deliberately made sure to accrue to secure the false loyalty of these young people and the expansion of their criminal activities.

The Minister should be under no illusion that what is happening in Drogheda is not confined to there but is being experienced in all the smaller towns and villages in County Louth and beyond into which these thugs' tentacles have expanded. These will continue to cause grief and expand unless steps are taken.

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