Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As the Minister of State knows, I have been involved in the local drugs task force since the beginning, back in the late 1990s. The role of community representatives on the task force is critical. I know this has become a huge challenge for the community in recent years. There has also been something of a pushback from certain Departments against community involvement. Basic respect for the community is needed, with its experience, expertise, knowledge and commitment to driving the national drugs strategy. Since the Department is on that task force, I ask the Minister of State to ensure that every support is given to the representatives of the community. I do not think it is. There are small improvements but much more work needs to be done to get us back to where we were at the beginning, when we felt there was a real sense of purpose for everybody sitting down and working together to try to deal with the difficulties of drug use in our communities.

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