FUNDING for communities battling drugs has been further slashed, sparking angry reactions from activists who described government policies as “stupid”.

THE Government is to combine alcohol and illegal drugs into a single strategy, it has emerged.

A GOVERNMENT working group has called for an integrated framework in the fight against alcohol and illegal drug abuse, but has stopped short of recommending one combined strategy for both substances.

GARDA commissioner Fachtna Murphy issued a chilling warning about a new drugs threat facing this country known as crystal meth.

FINANCE Minister Brian Cowen has allocated €12.5 million to fund the implementation of a new national system to rehabilitate drug addicts.

TWO facilities were opened yesterday in Cork and Waterford for young people at risk of drug use and crime.

A NEW structure to rehabilitate drug addicts, outlined in a report yesterday, will cost an estimated €30 million to implement.

THE Government will reveal details of its package for the troubled Moyross area in Limerick within the next few days.

PLANNING, implementation and funding problems have beset a major Government programme designed to revitalise disadvantaged urban areas, according to an independent evaluation of the project.

A DRUG group said it will have to severely cut a planned project to combat drug use among children, some as young as 10, after it received half the funding it needed from the Government.

THE proposal to give statutory weight to the traditional Poor Box system, used mainly by District Court judges in minor criminal matters, is both timely and sensible.