Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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I want to ask about the Government's approach to open drug dealing in my constituency of Dublin South-West. This is a scourge on our communities and there is an inadequate and weak response from the Government and the Garda, which is more than aware of the extent of the problem but seems reluctant, perhaps for resource or operational reasons, to act and close it down. In many cases, it is happening in plain view of CCTV and is not hidden away.

What can I or the Minister say to a constituent of mine who says that, every night, drug dealers gather outside their home to sell heroin or cocaine, including crack cocaine? There are children who have had to move from their own bedroom because they cannot sleep, with the shouting and noise from cars pulling up and speeding away, and because they are frightened, they want to move to their mother's bed. What does the Minister say to the shop owner who has to close early because of drug dealing in front of the shop? What does he say to a young person who has grown up looking at open drug dealing in their community and the normalisation of drugs and dealing among a new generation? What does he say to a person who, every day, leaves his home to go to school and sees drug paraphernalia littering his community, or many of his friends trying out drugs and developing an addiction? What does he say to the 12 year old, ten year old or eight year old who is selling or transporting drugs?

A recent report by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction and Europol found that Europeans are spending at least €30 billion on drugs each year, making the market a source of income for organised crime groups. The report states that Irish organised crime gangs are rigidly structured and extremely dangerous, which we all know. At the bottom of the criminal gang structure, the report states, is a lower tier of highly disadvantaged young people, generally involved in bullying, assaulting, stealing, vandalising and spreading fear on behalf of their network. The report states gangs in Ireland use intimidation to enforce their social norms within the drugs distribution hierarchy to discourage and punish informants, to recruit new members and to gain control over supply networks or territory. It points out that intimidation is escalating in certain parts of Europe, including Ireland, and much of this is related to drug debts and how the drug markets operate. The report states that many communities in Ireland have been severely affected by intimidation, with major impacts on the health and well-being of individuals, families and communities and the function of local services and agencies.

I have never seen the scale of drugs that are being openly sold in my constituency, and I am around this town a long time. Former Ministers with responsibility for drugs policy are saying the drugs strategy needs to change and the drugs crisis is escalating. It is not just about the Garda not having the resources it requires. New thinking, new strategies and a new approach are needed but I am not seeing that from the Government. I have never seen the situation as bad. It has become normalised, more violent, more vicious and more evident, and intimidation is widespread, with drugs freely available. It is not unusual for a 70 year old to present at Tallaght Hospital with health complications related to drugs, particularly cocaine. That is shocking. It is a wake-up call for us all when children and people in their 70s are involved, and it reflects the extent of the problem. My real concern is the open drug dealing and what message that sends to those communities.

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I take very seriously the points raised by Deputy Crowe and I acknowledge his work over many years on behalf of communities in his constituency. Tackling the sale and supply of drugs is a key priority for the Government and An Garda Síochána. The Garda is pursuing a number of strategies to tackle drug trafficking by organised criminal gangs, including the following: gathering intelligence on those involved in the distribution of drugs; conducting targeted operations on criminal networks based on intelligence; working with the Criminal Assets Bureau to seize the assets of criminals and disrupt their activities; and working in collaboration with other law enforcement agencies, both within and outside the jurisdiction.

I spoke earlier today in the other House in regard to crime, in particular drug-related crime. As I said there, the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau leads in tackling drug trafficking and the supply of illicit drugs in Ireland, and it continues to have significant success in tackling these issues. I understand from the Garda Commissioner that, since its establishment in March 2015, the bureau has been responsible for the seizure of controlled substances with an estimated street value of approximately €167 million, the seizure of cash believed to be the proceeds of crime to a value of €10 million and the seizure of 108 firearms and more than 3,000 rounds of ammunition. I further understand that, this year alone, the bureau has been responsible for the seizure of controlled substances to the value of €20 million, cash believed to be the proceeds of crime to the value of €2.4 million and 17 firearms.

I am setting this out because it is important to recognise that the Garda is having significant success in tackling the problem of illicit drugs. While I accept there is more to do, we should not be blind to the ongoing and positive progress that is being made. I understand the Garda works closely with the communities within which it serves for the purpose of addressing drug-related issues experienced within those communities, including through overt patrolling by uniformed personnel and through intelligence-led operations targeting known criminals and gangs.

Investing in capacity-building measures to support the role of law enforcement authorities is important in dealing with emerging drugs trends. The roll-out of the new operating model of An Garda Síochána now occurring meets a key commitment in A Policing Service for the Future, the implementation plan for the report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland. This model is the norm in many other countries, and I am confident it will serve Ireland well by providing a more agile, more localised and more responsive police service nationwide, including in the area to which Deputy Crowe referred. It will over time increase the number and visibility of front-line gardaí who will be available to combat all forms of criminality, including drug-dealing. Ongoing investment in An Garda Síochána is supporting the ongoing and sustained recruitment of Garda members and staff. We now have more than 14,300 gardaí nationwide, supported by almost 3,000 Garda staff. The organisation is still growing towards the Government's target of an overall Garda workforce of 21,000 by 2021, including 15,000 sworn members of An Garda Síochána. I acknowledge the numbers in the Dublin metropolitan region south division, which have also increased.

I assure the Deputy that the role of community groups, the Department of Health and my Department is to ensure that every effort is made to work with communities to stamp out what is a serious issue within society.

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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The primary purpose of this Topical Issue matter is to draw attention to the issue and get a more proactive response to it. Every day I see drug-dealing in my community. It is an attack on the community in which it happens, and no one should have to live beside it. That is the other big problem. I asked in my initial contribution what one says to those people living beside this open drug dealing. Should one tell them to ring the Garda authorities? They will say they have done that, that they do it nightly but they do not get a response. They want to see this open drug dealing closed down. That is not unreasonable, no matter where it is happening, and it is not just in my community. Anyone who goes outside this door will see it happening within ten minutes. It is happening everywhere.

I am trying to focus on what is happening in my community. I have been on the local alcohol and drug task force practically since its establishment. I was involved in trying to highlight the problems throughout Dublin in the early days of the heroin epidemic and so on. I am one of those who has campaigned for resources and support for those who are in addiction. I am still involved in that work. I also want supports put in place for these communities. We need to empower and encourage people, and I do not see that happening, given the open drug dealing taking place.

To end on a negative, there are fewer personnel in the drugs unit in Tallaght now than ten years ago. I will be told that members of the Garda are all involved in tackling this issue. The reality, however, is that the community almost feels as if it has been forgotten and that it is almost acceptable to society that this drug dealing should be allowed to happen in certain areas. The message we need to send out is that we are aware of this and will act on it. I hope the Minister can do that.

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I do not at all doubt the seriousness of the issue the Deputy raised. I stress that Ireland's national drug strategy represents a whole-of-Government response to the problem of drug and alcohol use in Ireland and adopts a balanced, health-led approach, aiming to reduce demand for, as well as access to, illicit drugs. I acknowledge the leadership in this regard of my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Catherine Byrne, who has joined us.

I spoke earlier about some of the activities under the strategy but I wish specifically to mention debt and debt intimidation. The strategy is unique among national drug strategies across European member states in recognising the need to address drug-related debt intimidation at community level. The drug-related intimidation reporting programme has been in place since 2013, responding to the needs of drug users and family members experiencing such intimidation. It has been agreed that the effectiveness of this programme will be further enhanced through training, knowledge-sharing and awareness-raising.

The use of detection dogs is also having a positive impact on tackling drug crime. The Garda dog unit, based in Kilmainham, in the DMR south central region, has a national remit. The Commissioner recently indicated to me that he intends for An Garda Síochána to invest in the purchasing and training of additional dogs for drug detection purposes next year.

I met the Garda Commissioner and his senior team this week. We discussed the issues the Deputy mentioned. I acknowledge the fact that this is an ongoing challenge, but we were reassured about the co-ordinated response that has been mounted by the Garda. Action is being taken on community safety, intelligence and drugs and organised crime.

I assure the Deputy and the community in Dublin South-West that he represents and all other communities that the issue of drug dealing and drug-related crime is being taken seriously at the highest level. I would be happy to resume a debate on this in the new year.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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The order of appearance of the next two Topical Issue matters, Nos. 3 and 4, by agreement with the Ministers and the Deputies, has been reversed.