Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Incidents of drug-related crime in Dundalk and Drogheda have escalated to an intolerable level. Since first elected, I and other Sinn Féin representatives have worked closely with An Garda Síochána. The victims of these attacks are victims of unscrupulous and dangerous drug pushers who are targeting them for drug debts which are not theirs. In one particular case, one family had €11,000 demanded from it.

I wrote to the Minister, as well as speaking to senior gardaí, about this. In his response, the Minister said that An Garda Síochána was reviewing its drug-related intimidation reporting programme. Will the Minister inform us if that review is complete? Will he accept that additional resources are needed for Garda youth diversionary projects such as the High Voltage and the TEAM Garda youth diversion projects in Dundalk and the Boyne and CABLE youth diversion projects in Drogheda, as well as the family resource network. According to a reply to a parliamentary question, there are currently five community gardaí in Drogheda and six in Dundalk. That figure has not increased since 2013. The position of junior liaison officer in Dundalk is now vacant.

An Garda Síochána deserves our fullest support. Will the Minister support the resourcing of a specialist drugs unit for Louth, which was previously promised by him?

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