Dáil debates

Wednesday, 27 November 2019

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions

 

12:00 pm

Photo of Micheál MartinMicheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The first issue is the scale of the problem as revealed by Europol. That is the bit I do not think the Government has got yet, to be honest, in particular given the fact nine Ministers of State signed a document on the reduction of resourcing of community partnerships and the whole loss of multidisciplinary impacts on the ground in certain disadvantaged communities. It is very clear from the Europol report that large numbers of disadvantaged teenagers and children are being targeted, exploited and used in this lucrative drug trade. That requires a multidisciplinary response involving the Garda but also involving education and resourcing people on the ground, in particular community leaders on the ground.

That has been lost in the past eight to nine years. That is what motivated former Ministers of State with particular experience in this area to come together to say we need to change and turn around what has happened over the past eight or nine years on the community front and to deal with this. It is a fair point that has been well made. Anyone who saw "Prime Time" last night will have seen Fr. Bryan Shortall making similar points about the need to get onto the ground in these communities to deal with this.

Deputy Curran is a former Minister of State in this area with considerable experience. His Bill is the first step to target this issue as it relates to children and young people and to create offences of using young children to deal drugs and of purchasing drugs from young children. These are straightforward provisions that we should accept. Again, we do not want the Bill to disappear somewhere in the ether. We want it fast-tracked and accelerated to start the fightback. It is the scale of the response that is the issue. There is no doubt but that the Garda is doing great work, and it is very difficult dealing with really dangerous criminals. This report tells us that the Kinahan gang is leading in Europe on this, so it is a very serious challenge to our society and our democracy. It needs a response on a scale we have not witnessed to date.

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