Declan Breathnach (Louth, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I concur with Deputy O'Dowd. Drugs, criminality, antisocial behaviour, fraudulent activity and raids on the elderly and bank machines are all matters regularly dealt with by the Garda Síochána and are not unique to the north east in any respect. What is happening in Drogheda and other parts of County Louth is a microcosm of what is happening throughout the country. However, the situation has been exacerbated in Drogheda. Crime is a scourge on all our communities, but the focus is currently on Drogheda. Crime, particularly gun and knife crime, is becoming expected rather than exceptional. Public order offences are up 9% year on year and there is a growing sense of lawlessness on our streets. All one must do to realise that is to look at the front page headlines of this week's edition of two local newspapers, one of which states, "Tackle drug crime now". That is referring to Dundalk. It is not just Drogheda which is experiencing this problem and some rural villages and towns as far away as Dundalk are affected. It needs to be tackled. I wrote to Commissioner Harris on 18 November and have not received a response. I asked him and the Minister to meet the joint policing committees, JPCs, and all Oireachtas Members who represent the area.

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