Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As the Minister of State knows, crack cocaine is a dirty, hungry drug. There is no such thing as enough for the people who are using it and that is the problem with it. It is not a new thing. It has been around for years. I worked on drugs task forces more than 20 years ago and crack cocaine was on the scene then, but because of the lack of resources they had at the time, they were unable to deal with the impacts we are facing now. There are solutions. I have tabled a Bill that would provide that any money seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau would be put back into the communities it was taken from. This would allow communities like Tallaght and Clondalkin, and other communities throughout the State, to use that money in that fund. I cannot think of anything better for that money at the moment. This would allow communities to build resilience and stop our young people falling into drug use and drug crime. It would allow mothers and fathers to make sure they are bringing up their children in a safe space and are not worried. We need to look at other alternatives and look outside the box.

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