Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh maith agat. I am not going to disagree with anything the Minister has said, other than that the problem is so big and we need a hell of a lot more. I welcome the work that is done by the Garda, the huge operations they have put in play. At times they have put considerable players out of action, even on a town level. Unfortunately, sometimes that takes three or four years to work its way through. Sometimes by the time you get rid of that major drug dealer, the dealers on the street barely remember who they were as other players have entered the field. We have an element of absolute normalisation of drug dealing in working class areas.

Unfortunately, in every bar in every town and village on a Saturday night, there are many people who probably do not break many other laws but think it is absolutely sound to take cocaine. They are putting massive money in to these people. I have seen guys who have had houses taken off them but they are back the next day selling drugs and whatever else. There is great work being done but none of it is enough. We also have a very specific piece of work to do about the vulnerable people who are used but who impact on the communities around them, sometimes more than the dealers themselves.

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