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

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I look forward to more youth justice projects being rolled out. They are a great investment in our young people and a great investment in communities where there is particular disadvantage.

As the Minister of State will be aware, this issue needs to be addressed with the utmost urgency. It is really heartbreaking to listen to parents, siblings and family members who have lost loved ones through the use of drugs. They are victims of the people who are peddling drugs and causing untold hardship in every community. I recalled in this House previously that I listened to a mother who lost her son and husband. She outlined very clearly the role drugs played in their deaths. They were two young people. It is absolutely appalling. We also need more awareness campaigns, and not just for teenagers or young adults. Based on what I hear in weekly conversations, we need campaigns for every age group in the country. We are hearing daily of the prevalence of drugs in places we never thought they would be present. The Government has an obligation to provide safer communities for all and the one thing we hear about nowadays is that drugs are everywhere.

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