Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I also commend An Garda Síochána and the other statutory agencies on their work in trying to cut off the supply of illegal drugs. We know they are dealing with dangerous criminals and drug traffickers who are part of an international industry. This is not only a national issue. These international gangs are wreaking havoc on individuals, families and communities.

The Minister of State spoke about the additional resources to the different specialist units of An Garda Síochána. While that is welcome, we need additional resources for the individual drugs units within every Garda division. We have been told we have X number of personnel attached to the drug unit today in comparison with two or three years ago but the problems have multiplied in the meantime. We need more and more resources to tackle the increasing problems associated with drugs. I am talking about dealing with the people who are peddling drugs to make huge money. They are wreaking havoc on individuals and families. They must be dealt with as severely as possible to ensure their ill-gotten gains and supplies are cut off.

See this speech in context