Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCeann Comhairle as an deis a thabhairt dom labhairt faoin ábhar seo anocht. Táim an-sásta an tAire a fheiceáil anseo. I raise with him the growing level of extortion with violence and threats by drug gangs in County Louth. They are demanding that the families of those they claim owe them money now pay the alleged debt. I am told by party colleagues that this is also a serious problem in Dublin and elsewhere. Last week I visited a family in County Louth who were living in terror. In the space of six months they had paid a drug gang a total of €3,700 to pay debts allegedly owed by their son. The drug gang has targeted the family in a sustained campaign of intimidation, threats and attempted extortion. It is now demanding a further €8,000. However, the family are demonstrating remarkable courage in the face of threats and standing firm by rejecting the drug gang's latest demand. When I visited their home, clearly they were very anxious and their fears were well founded. Over St. Patrick's weekend, their home was petrol bombed while they slept in their beds. Luckily, the impact of the bomb breaking a window woke the family who extinguished the fire before anyone was hurt. They are working closely with An Garda Síochána and have praised gardaí highly.

Other families have also been targeted and other homes attacked. Cars have been destroyed, while families have fled their homes. Last Friday I spoke to the chief superintendent of the Louth division. I commend An Garda Síochána on its actions and efforts to date. Unfortunately, it is starved of the resources it needs to deal with this threat. During my last meeting in Dundalk Garda station in January the officers informed me that the Louth drug crime unit was up and running, with three extra staff in Dundalk and five in Drogheda. While that is a good start and something for which we have campaigned and lobbied for some time, the resources are still far too low to deal with a problem of this scale. Other cases have come through my office and I have kept the Garda informed of all of them. No doubt, there are many more of which I am not aware.

Most of this intimidation can be traced to two drug gangs in Drogheda where local families are subjected to similar threats over drug debts allegedly owed by family members. I commend the neighbours and friends of the family I visited. I commend the family on taking the stand they have. It is no mean thing to do. It demands huge courage to stand up to these thugs. While the people of County Louth will not be intimidated by these gangsters, it should not be left to the community and An Garda Síochána. Does the Minister agree that the State has a duty to support and protect the family in question? Will he look urgently at the provision of additional resources for the Louth division of An Garda Síochána to support the work of its drug unit? Will he consider introducing or supporting legislation to ensure proof of identity will be required in the purchase of mobile phones? As he is well aware, mobile phones are used in the illegal drugs trade and many of the threats issued to the family being victimised in this case are made by mobile phone. I ask the Minister to imagine what would have happened had they not been alerted to the fact that the petrol bomb had been thrown. I ask him to imagine the case had members of the family been killed in that attack. We would be treating it as a national crisis. Will the Minister support the family and those standing against the drug gangs and ensure An Garda Síochána will have all the support it requires?

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