Aubrey McCarthy (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for being here. My purpose today is to raise the issue of the very real and deeply disturbing impact of drug-related intimidation and violence on families right across Ireland. I spoke on the matter in this House recently and, since then, I have been contacted by a number of people. Many people wrongly see drug-related intimidation as something that only affects those involved in drugs or who use drugs. However, I have found that is simply not true. It is increasingly the case that intimidation reaches into other areas and families and the lives of ordinary law-abiding citizens and neighbours, people who have never had anything to do with drugs and who never chose to be dragged into this chaos.

I recently heard of a maintenance groundsman for a school who had found a parcel. He did not know what it was and presented it to the authorities. They said he should go to the police. He presented it to the police and it turned out to be cocaine. Unfortunately, the people who owned the drugs identified him as the man who shopped them and they came looking for the full value, which was over €100,000. This drug-related intimidation is affecting people who have never used drugs and who have never been part of that world. It arose here in its most frightening form. As can be imagined, this man was not a drug user. He is now living in fear of reprisals and his family home being damaged. It has made him a target.

That is an example of the reality for many families throughout Ireland. Drug-related intimidation does not just affect drug users; it affects families. It involves psychological coercion. The Minister of State will recently have heard in the news about homes being burnt and so on. When violence does not materialise, people constantly fear what might happen to their children, their house or their family. It creates ongoing trauma. Children absorb the fear and parents live with guilt and shame. Many families I know from my own business and charity work have paid out tens of thousands of euro to these criminals.

I acknowledge the drug-related intimidation and violence engagement, DRIVE, project put in place by the Minister for Health. I launched that in my own area two years ago. It recognises that the problem requires co-ordinated action across the areas of justice, health and community policing. That framework is certainly a good one but I find that frameworks alone do not protect families and individuals. On the ground, families are experiencing intimidation and many are terrified to report this to the Garda. When the Garda does deal with it, it collects all the information but prosecutions often do not come before the courts. The families need trauma-informed support. They need to work with the task forces and so on. It all needs to be joined up. There needs to be joined-up thinking. There is a huge gap in this area. I have asked the Minister for Health to address this but there is also a part for the Department of justice to play. Those involved in intimidation, extortion and threats have to be brought before the courts.

I will speak about the community safety partnerships, CSPs. These have real potential when they are funded and when they are supported by the local drug and alcohol task forces. How will the community safety partnerships be resourced? How will they be required to work with the drug and alcohol task forces?How will the DRIVE framework be matched with dedicated funding, clearly defined roles and practical family supports so that this can be consistent throughout the country? Crucially, we need to ensure that when people do the right thing, such as the example that I gave, they do not become targets for these criminals. Families living in fear deserve far more than co-ordination on paper. I think DRIVE is wonderful co-ordination on paper but we absolutely need to resource it and make sure that prosecutions appear before the courts.