Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. As the House will be aware, both the Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, and I have addressed both Houses on the situation in County Louth in recent months. The Minister of State updated the Seanad in February on the steps being taken by An Garda Síochána to neutralise the ongoing feud there. My party colleague, Deputy O'Dowd, has also been monitoring the situation closely. As the Deputy will be aware, I visited Drogheda Garda station last December when I was very impressed by the robust response that had been put in place by the Garda authorities in the region. There is a dedicated policing operation in place, Operation Stratus, which specifically targets the ongoing feud in the Drogheda area. The operation consists of high visibility patrols and check points, days of action and covert policing initiatives to target specific individuals. These operations are supplemented by personnel from the regional armed support unit, the drug units and divisional road policing units and have resulted in the seizure of considerable amounts of cash, firearms and controlled drugs. The Garda will continue to tackle this problem head on to ensure the safety of all citizens in County Louth.

Drug related intimidation is an extremely serious issue which impacts greatly on communities and society as a whole but especially families. I am advised that An Garda Síochána has strict policies and procedures in place to deal with the issue of drug related intimidation and tackles the supply of drugs by supporting local communities through various preventative and detection initiatives, including engagement with local and regional drug and alcohol task forces, the Garda youth diversion programme and other projects, the Garda schools programme, the joint policing committees and community policing fora.

I am further advised by the Garda authorities that the drug related intimidation reporting programme has been implemented nationally since 2013. An inspector has been nominated in every Garda division throughout the country, including County Louth, to act as the single point of contact as part of the inspector's portfolio in each division. These inspectors are at management level within An Garda Síochána and have great expertise, knowledge and vast experience. They will liaise directly with the local superintendent on each individual case. As part of the implementation process, all regional assistant commissioners nationally and their senior management teams have been briefed on An Garda Síochána’s responsibilities and commitments under the national drugs strategy in the context of drug related intimidation and the drug related intimidation reporting programme.

For its part, the Government has provided the Garda Commissioner with an additional €100 million in 2019, bringing his total budget to almost €1.8 billion. This substantial investment will allow the accelerated recruitment programme to continue in tandem with the deployment of new and leading edge technology to support front-line gardaí in carrying out their work of delivering a visible, effective and responsive police service to communities across all Garda divisions, including the Louth division, in 2019 and future years. I will be very clear. The intimidation outlined by the Deputy will not be allowed to continue. Gardaí in County Louth are tackling this issue head-on and will continue to bring those engaged in any illegal activity to justice.

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