Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The family have been told to pay an extra €8,000 or they will be killed. Their home is barricaded in a makeshift way. They are receiving the support and attention of An Garda Síochána, on which they commend it. They also have the support of their neighbours. The selling, distribution and use of drugs present a major problem in our society. Some addicts engage in criminality to raise the money needed to feed their habit and once they are hooked, they are used by gangs in a scurrilous, cynical and clinical way. There is a need for a well resourced, an holistic and a multi-agency approach. It would bring all stakeholders together, including in the community and the voluntary sector, as well as the Garda and other agencies, to tackle the scourge of drugs and the associated health and criminal issues.

I have submitted a number of parliamentary questions about the ongoing evaluation of the drug related intimidation reporting programme by An Garda Síochána and the work of the family addiction support network. The programme was operational under the 2009 to 2016 national drug and alcohol strategy. The current strategy - Reducing Harm, Supporting Recovery - runs from 2017 to 2025. Last year the Minister told me that the evaluation would be completed by the end of 2018. As we are now well into 2019, has is it been completed? If it has, when will it be published? What lessons are drawn from it? Is the drug related intimidation reporting programme working? An Garda Síochána is the lead agency in the campaign against illegal drugs and the people at the coal face are doing their best, but does the Minister accept that they need him to resource them financially and draw lessons from the evaluations?

It is unique for the family to take this stand. I know many families who will not make it and do not blame them. Are we going to let the family down?

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