Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State is very welcome. On behalf of Sinn Féin, I welcome this motion from Fianna Fáil. It is important that as public representatives we are discussing such an important issue, particularly considering the statement issued Iast week and signed by several former Ministers with responsibility for drugs, expressing their concerns that the national drugs strategy is failing. While shocking to hear, that is not news to most of us. I acknowledge the point about the Minister of State having empathy. I know that she goes into local communities and talks to people at the coalface. She knows first-hand that there has not been a noticeable or substantial change in the drugs crisis for many local communities. Matters are getting progressively worse for many local communities, certainly in Limerick, where my colleague, Deputy Quinlivan, has been involved in the regional task force for more than a decade. He was involved in that task force when its funding was cut to ribbons by Fianna Fáil. The recent budget was an opportunity to turn this deepening crisis around. However, the Government's priorities lay elsewhere and not with those areas most affected by the drugs crisis. That was an opportunity for Fianna Fáil to press for additional funding for the task forces since it is supporting this Government.Why did it fail to do so? Perhaps when Fianna Fáil Senators are summing up, we will hear about their continuing failure to deliver substantial changes in terms of funding.

While the drugs crisis affects every demographic and community, it is most severely felt by disadvantaged areas and vulnerable communities which have had many services and supports cut by this Government and previous Governments. The local drug task forces established in the mid-1990s were a response to pressure from communities devastated by drugs and addiction. A dedicated Minister of State with responsibility for the national drugs strategy was appointed. Drugs task forces became central to combating the drugs crisis in our communities. They liaise with statutory agencies and local public representatives and help oversee strategies that help develop responses to the varying aspects of local drug problems. They are responsible for many local initiatives to help people affected by drugs problems. Task forces across the country have developed many projects in their areas to address issues such as prevention, education, treatment and rehabilitation. More recently, tackling the alcohol crisis has been added to their remit without corresponding funding or any additional resources. Funding for drug task forces has been cut every year between 2008 and 2014 and funding has been frozen since 2014 without any consideration for inflation.

We are losing experienced and talented people from the task forces and the various projects they run. This is a loss of irreplaceable organisational knowledge that can only be detrimental in the fight against drugs. These crucial workers have not received a pay rise since 2008. We are also in danger of losing a vital connection with the community if task forces cannot properly function. Many local and regional task forces provide a focal point for the community and community representatives, allowing discussion to take place on drugs issues. They provide a crucial link to tenants' organisations, youth workers, the Garda, statutory agencies, community projects, public representatives and many others. Such interactions help task forces set and identify priorities and help co-ordinate the implementation of plans and agreed actions.

Task forces are important in identifying and responding to the needs of those affected by the drugs problem. They are at the coalface of this problem. Consulting the community is imperative in the fight against drugs in the community and the task forces are best placed to carry out such consultations. Funding needs to be reinstated to 2008 levels with a comparative increase in funding to reflect the additional remit of alcohol. We must keep the knowledge and experience the staff in task forces and community-based drug and alcohol projects have acquired over decades. In order to do that, it is only reasonable to ask that those who work in the projects should also expect decent pay and conditions. Staff should have their pay restored and those who are entitled to increments should also have those restored. It is no wonder that we are also having a recruitment problem with regard to these organisations and projects.

Communities devastated by the drugs problem are also being terrorised and intimidated by those involved in the drug trade. Families are concerned about the increasing use of children who are being groomed for use as drug couriers. Sinn Féin fully supports the great work and dedication of the staff of local and regional drug and alcohol task forces. I disagree slightly with my colleague, Senator Martin Conway, from Fine Gael. Having had a recent conversation with a senior garda in Limerick, I am very clear that drug task forces are significantly down on resources.