Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

I am going to assume that the Minister of State heard about and read some of the extensive coverage over the past couple of days regarding the tsunami of crack cocaine use in Tallaght. I hope she also read the report by the TDATF or that the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, has. The bottom line is that this is an appeal for help from those on the front line. The report in question states: "it is by far the biggest single problem facing the services and communities of TDATF, it is of epidemic proportions and if it is not addressed immediately, it will dwarf the heroin epidemic of the 80's". That is a very stark warning for the Government. The latter is the case because the impact in terms of the devastation of people's lives and of communities is equally stark. It is a situation where women are pressured to engage in sex work and people are unable to go to the local shop for fear of being offered or given drugs or pressured about drug debts. It is absolutely destroying communities. There are incredible people doing incredible work in the various projects but they are supporting people with their hands tied behind their backs. On the one hand, this is due to the societal issues of massive inequality and deprivation, but it is also because, to put it bluntly, they are insufficiently funded. The task force is still suffering from the cutbacks made between 2009 and 2013, where mainstream and interim funding were cut by over 20%. It is incredible that with an increased population with increased drug use and addiction problems, the TDATF has €100,000 less than it did in 2010. It needs at least an extra €1 million and it needs to hear from the Government that it will get it.

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