Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I do not at all doubt the seriousness of the issue the Deputy raised. I stress that Ireland's national drug strategy represents a whole-of-Government response to the problem of drug and alcohol use in Ireland and adopts a balanced, health-led approach, aiming to reduce demand for, as well as access to, illicit drugs. I acknowledge the leadership in this regard of my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Catherine Byrne, who has joined us.

I spoke earlier about some of the activities under the strategy but I wish specifically to mention debt and debt intimidation. The strategy is unique among national drug strategies across European member states in recognising the need to address drug-related debt intimidation at community level. The drug-related intimidation reporting programme has been in place since 2013, responding to the needs of drug users and family members experiencing such intimidation. It has been agreed that the effectiveness of this programme will be further enhanced through training, knowledge-sharing and awareness-raising.

The use of detection dogs is also having a positive impact on tackling drug crime. The Garda dog unit, based in Kilmainham, in the DMR south central region, has a national remit. The Commissioner recently indicated to me that he intends for An Garda Síochána to invest in the purchasing and training of additional dogs for drug detection purposes next year.

I met the Garda Commissioner and his senior team this week. We discussed the issues the Deputy mentioned. I acknowledge the fact that this is an ongoing challenge, but we were reassured about the co-ordinated response that has been mounted by the Garda. Action is being taken on community safety, intelligence and drugs and organised crime.

I assure the Deputy and the community in Dublin South-West that he represents and all other communities that the issue of drug dealing and drug-related crime is being taken seriously at the highest level. I would be happy to resume a debate on this in the new year.

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