Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is a lucky family that has not been affected by the drugs crisis. We all need to accept that the crisis is out of control. Somebody has already mentioned the number of drug deaths, which stands at its highest ever. This relates to the amount of drugs being seized and the open drug dealing in our communities. I went on the first anti-drugs march in Dublin 37 years ago. At that time I was involved with Concerned Parents and the Coalition of Communities against Drugs, COCAD, was the group that emerged a number of years later. I have been on the drugs task forces since their establishment but I have never seen the problem as bad in my area and in the city as a whole in all that time.

I agree that alcohol addiction measures must form part of the work but the Minister should explain to the House how resources can be cut while we expect the same positive outcomes. It is a big question. We also need to be told what we will do differently, what new supports will be made available to communities and what additional resources will be forthcoming.

Through my years attending drug task force meetings, I have seen how representatives from the voluntary and community sectors attend in abundance. They attend every meeting. However, those who are supposed to support the pillars in the drugs strategy are not usually seen around the table. In many cases, we might not have a representative from the Departments dealing with justice, social protection or education. All those elements are supposed to push the strategy but they are not around the table to discuss it while members of the community, including politicians in many cases, are doing so. We need to do things differently so if the Minister of State is to speak about being a driver for change, it is something simple that can be done tomorrow. She could instruct the Departments, which are key to rolling out the strategy to support the communities, to attend task force meetings.

We are 37 years on and the problem persists. The Minister spoke about drug-related intimidation, which is getting worse. People want support and answers in this regard.

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