Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Question 10: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the number of meetings he or his Department have had with the gardaí and the Department of Justice and Law Reform in relation to the prevention of and spread of the sale of illegal drugs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14271/10]

Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of Justice, Equality & Law Reform and An Garda Síochána both play a vital role in the implementation of the National Drugs Strategy. In that context, my colleague, Minister John Curran, T.D., held numerous meetings and had on-going engagement with both organisations during his period as Minister for State with responsibility for the Drugs Strategy. Indeed, engagement with officials of my Department takes place virtually on a daily basis.

In line with the provisions of the Drugs Strategy, I intend to hold a further series of bilateral meetings with various Ministers and officials over the coming months and I anticipate that high-level meetings with the Department of Justice, Equality & Law Reform and An Garda Síochána will be included in that schedule.

However, while such high-level meetings are important to facilitate to smooth implementation of the Strategy, they are only part of much wider process. The Department of Justice, Equality & Law Reform and An Garda Síochána are fully engaged in the ongoing implementation of the Strategy, including through membership of the various structures involved. Both organisations are represented on the Drugs Advisory Group, through the assignment of officials on a half-time basis to the Office of the Minister for Drugs (OMD). In both cases, the representatives are directly involved in the implementation of the Strategy and provide a strong link between their organisations and the OMD. Furthermore, An Garda Síochána is represented on all Drugs Task Forces, while the Department of Justice, Equality & Law Reform, and associated agencies, are represented on a number of them.

Both organisations are also centrally involved on the Oversight Forum on Drugs. As Chair of the Forum, I intend to build on the work of monitoring progress at a high level and to address any difficulties and blockages that may arise, in partnership with the relevant bodies.

The importance of international co-operation is well recognised among our law enforcement agencies and the Gardaí, as well as Revenue's Customs Service, have been very active in this regard. I would also mention the significant contribution to the implementation of the Strategy being made by the Irish Prison and Probation Services.

I look forward to the continued co-operation of the Department of Justice, Equality & Law Reform and An Garda Síochána in the implementation of the Drugs Strategy and I have no doubt that this will be forthcoming.