Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for her response and acknowledge the good work she has done since being appointed to her position. Unfortunately, she is being strangled by the lack of resources. My understanding is that the €1 million she announced in March, on the day of the Private Member's motion on the issue, is to be spent by task forces over the next three and a half years. That is quite disappointing. I thought that money would be ring-fenced and poured into drugs task forces this year. As I said earlier, the Mid-West Regional Drugs and Alcohol Forum has taken cuts of more than 50% since 2008. This has not been restored and the problem has worsened. Over the years these cuts have negatively impacted on and prevented the delivery of drug and alcohol services that are urgently required in Limerick and across the entire mid-west region. The Criminal Assets Bureau also needs to be resourced so that the proceeds of crime can be taken from local drug dealers and gangs. Young people would see that the lifestyle of drug dealers is not what is portrayed on television or in movies if the response from the CAB was better. Does the Minister of State intend to look at this particular area or to look for additional funding in the budget?

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