Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this Bill, which will help protect children from being groomed by adults involved in the drugs trade and provide proper sanction for those who exploit children for this purpose. Vulnerable communities and disadvantaged areas are most impacted by the use and distribution of illegal drugs. The use of illegal drugs affects every demographic across all communities but economically disadvantaged areas suffer the most from it. This situation has not been helped as funds for drug and alcohol task forces have been cut and experienced staff have left. Communities are being devastated by drug problems. Communities and families are being terrorised and intimidated by those involved in the drugs trade. An increasing fear for families is that their children are not only being exposed to the use of these illegal drugs but that they are being groomed by adults and older youths to help in the sale and supply of drugs or to hold weapons and quantities of cash for drug gangs. Children are being enticed, forced and controlled into being involved in this criminal behaviour on behalf of adults who care little about the consequences such activity will have on the child or their future.

A report by the University of Limerick found that children as young as ten or 11 were being groomed for the drugs trade. The report outlined a perverse structure in the drugs trade where those at the top rarely, if ever, involve themselves directly with criminal activity. Younger men and women, who are often drug users themselves, act as the middlemen and young children, some still in primary school, act as runners and carriers for the drug gangs. These young children are seen in a cynical way by the drug gangs as being both expendable and plentiful. The full extent to which this is happening may not be known, as we can only go by Garda figures and what it is aware of. The Garda compiles its information based on crimes reported and Garda intelligence but local communities believe the problem is far greater and far more widespread than what is reported. I believe that too from my years working in the community and being in the local drugs task force. Drug gangs will use different tactics to recruit and exploit children and young people, including bribing them with rewards, befriending them, threatening them or coercing them.

Children can be subject to threats, violence, or having the safety of their families threatened. The children risk becoming users themselves, all of which has a long-term impact on their education and employment opportunities. There are many reasons a child might be recruited into a drugs gang. It can be because of where they live, they may be promised awards or they want to make what they see as easy money. Working for such a gang gives the child a false sense of respect, importance or status. Many of these children come from deprived or disadvantaged backgrounds. They probably feel a sense of belonging when working for these gangs. Such children are generally seen to be vulnerable and as coming from difficult backgrounds, and so are more susceptible to being groomed. This is why we need robust legislation to protect these children and to punish those grooming the children. This Bill will accomplish both.

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