Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

A somewhat bigger question, which I am unsure if the Minister will be able to answer, is how to undercut criminal gangs in this country. Such gangs are largely profiteering and generating money through the drug industry. That is essentially what they are doing. Robbing banks is yesterday's kind of activity for criminal gangs. These gangs generate enormous amounts of money through the drugs industry. It is ironic that we have legislation in this State called the Misuse of Drugs Act. The drugs these gangs deal in are essentially controlled drugs but we do not have any control at all. These are controlled drugs and are essentially controlled by criminal gangs. We need to have a long discussion - this is obviously going through the Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use at the moment - on how to undercut the drug industry with a view to regulating certain drugs and diverting any revenues which are generated away from the black market into a regulated system. Otherwise, we will have a perpetual cycle of criminality. Generally, this market is generated and run for the profits of drugs. We cannot get away from that and we need to undercut it.

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