14 people have been arrested and charged with drug trafficking offences as part of an ongoing investigation of organised crime in Drogheda.

He told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland the drugs issue is being tackled in many ways.

Two men have been charged in relation to a drug seizure in Dublin, gardaí have said.

Cocaine and cannabis worth over €700,000 have been seized in Dublin.

The cash was packaged in units of €50 notes and vacuum-packed into a large container.

There has been a 40% drop in the number of gardaí in local drug units in the last eight years — a fall that has continued despite the restarting of recruitment.

Gardaí have intervened in more than 30 potential murders since the Regency Hotel attack late last summer.

Gardai are unable to pursue prosecutions for the sale and possession of some ‘legal highs’ even if they have been linked deaths, according to a senior Garda in the National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau.