Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this serious issue. I first want to address the issue of drugs and antisocial behaviour. I come to that with some degree of knowledge. Up to recently, I chaired for ten years the regional drugs and alcohol taskforce in north County Dublin. I have seen at first hand the damage illegal and illicit drugs, and indeed legal drugs like alcohol, can do to our young people and not so young people as well. We have to ensure there is education on drugs and drug use to inform young people and educate them to make the right decisions. The days of the garda going into schools, showing drug paraphernalia and telling people not to do drugs are gone. Our young people are clever and intelligent and will make decisions based on the information they have. We have seen an increase in drug use and an increase in the prevalence and availability of drugs, and not just cocaine. I think one of the most dangerous drugs out there is synthetic cannabis. People believe that cannabis is simply the cannabis leaf, but that is no longer the case. It is laboratory produced and is approximately 100 times stronger than one would have thought a normal joint would have been in the past. It has really bad and negative effects, particularly on young people up to the age of 25. We need to continue to resource our regional drug and alcohol taskforces and local drug taskforces to provide the family supports required and to provide the education to our young people to enable them to make the right decisions. I have seen how that can work very well on the ground.

The instances raised by the Deputy about antisocial behaviour in Wexford are truly shocking. I am sure they are also shocking to her constituents. We have seen increases in that type of behaviour from time to time. That is why it is so important that we continue to support our gardaí, who are there, so they can carry out more visible community policing. I will give the example of Swords in my constituency, where the community policing unit is now back in place. We need to see that across the country because that is where An Garda can be proactive-----

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