Aubrey McCarthy (Independent)
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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.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I wish everyone in the Seanad a good Christmas and a peaceful and successful new year. I see we have cross-party Members here today. I wish them all well. I thank Senator McCarthy for raising this issue. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister of State with responsibility for public health, well-being and the national drugs strategy, Deputy Jennifer Murnane O’Connor. I welcome the opportunity to update the House on funding for the DRIVE project and the support provided by the Minister of State with responsibility for the national drugs strategy and the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration.

Drug-related intimidation and violence arises where individuals or family members are threatened by criminal drug gangs, usually because of an outstanding debt arising from the supply of illicit drugs. Drug-related intimidation is a serious and insidious issue impacting individuals, families and communities nationwide. It is a complex problem that leaves victims fearful and powerless. Senator McCarthy has alluded to all this. Intimidation can involve demands for repayment of perceived drug debts or opportunistic extortion, and its relentless nature poses significant risks to health and well-being. It can also be a means of recruiting people into supporting the criminal activities of drug gangs. The DRIVE project is an interagency response to drug-related intimidation and violence affecting an individual, a family or a community. It is supported by the Department of Health, the Department of justice, An Garda Síochána, the HSE drug task forces and other stakeholders. It aims to build community capacity to support victims and tackle the root causes of intimidation and violence.

The Department of Health has been the principal funder of DRIVE from 2020, when the drug task forces first submitted a proposal to establish DRIVE. The Department currently provides over €250,000 per annum to meet the operational costs of DRIVE, amounting to €1,260,000 in total to date. In May this year, the Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O’Connor, and the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, jointly launched a nationwide awareness campaign on drug-related intimidation and the supports available through DRIVE. A specific aim of the campaign was to reduce the stigma associated with drug-related intimidation. The Department of Health provided additional funding to support the national awareness campaign. The campaign has been successful in increasing awareness of supports available to 29% of the population, which represents a 10% increase overall.

A key objective of DRIVE is to build community capacity to support victims of drug-related intimidation and violence. It provides specific training and capacity-building, which is being rolled out on a national basis. The DRIVE project is developing resources and signposting affected individuals to specialist support services in their local areas, including An Garda Síochána’s drug-related intimidation reporting programme. The programme responds to the needs of drug users, family members and individuals who are experiencing drug-related intimidation. It is led by specially trained Garda inspectors who have expertise in understanding and supporting people who experience drug-related intimidation.

The DRIVE oversight committee is responsible for leading and co-ordinating the implementation of the DRIVE framework in partnership with key stakeholders. It is supported by a DRIVE project staff team which includes a national DRIVE co-ordinator, a DRIVE project officer and a DRIVE data research and evaluation co-ordinator. The Minister of State with responsibility for the national drugs strategy has also assisted the DRIVE project to develop a national reporting system on incidences of drug-related intimidation, using the national drug treatment reporting system, which is maintained by the Health Research Board. This national surveillance system will record incidents of drug-related intimidation and provide national data on the nature and extent of this criminal behaviour. In turn, this will allow us to quantify the demand for support and to allocate additional resources where these are required. I would encourage people experiencing drug-related intimidation to contact their local drug task force or community-based service provider to get confidential support.

Senator McCarthy specifically referred to the community safety partnerships. He will appreciate that they are under the Department of justice but it is something I have no doubt will be noted by both the Department of Health and the Department of justice. I suggest that the Senator take this matter up directly with the Department of justice too. I will await his further comments.

Aubrey McCarthy (Independent)
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When I tabled the Commencement matter, I asked for the Department of justice because I felt this is more a justice issue, in order to get prosecutions before the courts.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I suppose it is interagency.

Aubrey McCarthy (Independent)
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It is joint. It is definitely interagency. I notice the Minister of State’s statement says it usually affects drug users or their family members. The example I gave was one of people who have nothing to do with drugs. They are pulled into a world by thugs and criminals, which is totally unfair. The problem is that they feel that when they stand up to these people, their whole lives go into chaos. The test of the DRIVE initiative is when you bring together the Department of justice and the Department of Health and make this thing work. We have the framework and the possibility of making a difference here. However, families are still suffering. I am asking the Minister of State to make sure that DRIVE is matched with funding. I launched it two years ago with fanfare and I was so excited about it, but I do not think the funding and prosecution rate are working on the ground. The potential is there but we need to resource it.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I stated previously that I want to thank Senator McCarthy for bringing this matter forward. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister of State with responsibility for public health, well-being and the national drugs strategy, Deputy Jennifer Murnane O’Connor. DRIVE embodies the holistic, health-led approach to drug use, based on interagency collaboration. By working collaboratively, DRIVE can make a practical difference to people and families affected by drug-related intimidation and drugs in communities. The Minister of State with responsibility for the national drugs strategy will shortly receive a draft of the successor national drugs strategy. It is expected that strengthening responses to drug-related intimidation, such as DRIVE, will be an important component of the strategy. The Minister will continue to work with the DRIVE oversight committee to support the national roll-out of the DRIVE project. I acknowledge the leadership role played by the drugs task force in developing the DRIVE project. There are two aspects. I will bring the ask for additional funding back to the Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O'Connor, and officials. I also suggest, in the context of community safety partnerships, that the Senator take the matter up directly with the Department of justice. It is a collaborative, interagency approach, and it is hugely important and affects too many people in their daily lives.