James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I want to add to the words already spoken by my colleagues and I commend Deputy John Curran on bringing this motion forward. It is a very important motion, as highlighted last weekend by nine former Ministers of State who had responsibility for drugs and who called for urgent and further action on this scourge, which all Members see in their communities. While it is very much an urban issue and while Dublin is at the heart of it, it is not just confined to the capital city. The scourge of drugs affects communities in every corner of the country, not least in my constituency in Kildare North and across all of Kildare. We are fortunate to have the hardworking local drugs and alcohol task force in Kildare which is as effective as it can be with the limited resources available. I commend the Tiglin Centre and Aubrey McCarthy, who won the Kildare person of the year award for his work in rehabilitation and drug relief, of which we are very proud. They have had to make the best of a bad lot, however, given the resources available to them to assist.

Returning to the issue in the city, it is also the case that the blight continues on our capital's streets. I worked in Abbey Street in Dublin city centre for a long time and I have seen our main tourism trails and our main commercial city business districts ravaged by the scourge of addiction and open drug dealing, and with the petty crime, theft and violence that stems from this and spills over to affect passers by, tourists and everybody else. It has to be tackled. Firm action is required.

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