Catherine Ardagh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I, too, welcome our visitors from Clontarf to the House. I hope there are a few budding politicians among the girls and that they enjoy their day.

Today, I raise a report completed by Dr. Johnny Connolly of the University of Limerick in conjunction with An Garda Síochána from Dublin south-central. The report confirmed what we knew to be the case anecdotally and have discussed in the House, namely, that children as young as 12 years are being used by gangs in the south inner city to deliver and sell drugs. These children are considered by gangland criminals to be expendable. The problem is having a serious impact on local communities. Dr. Connolly's report finds that up to 700 children are involved in drugs gangs in just one small area. These children have been groomed and view the work as easy money. If anything goes wrong, they are completely expendable.

My colleague in the Lower House, Deputy John Curran, has proposed legislation to amend section 15 of the Misuse of Drugs Act to make it an offence to buy drugs from a minor or to use a child to sell or procure drugs. I ask the Leader to ensure the Bill is fast-tracked when it comes before the Seanad. Drug task forces have not been properly resourced and most of them lack youth workers. They have not been given any additional funding. I know of one particular area where there is just one youth worker for 300,000 children. We must fund drug task forces properly and fast-track Deputy Curran's legislation. We need to look after the children who are being groomed right in front of us, which is unfair.

On a second issue, thefts of defibrillators are on the increase. In counties Wicklow and Louth thefts and destruction of defibrillators have been reported recently. People rely on defibrillators because they save lives. The wanton vandalism and destruction of community defibrillators is upsetting and disgusting. I urge anyone who sees defibrillators being damaged to contact the local Garda.