Drugs task forces ‘need investment’
Labour Party justice spokesman Joe Costello called for urgent resources to be ploughed into local drugs task forces to enable communities to tackle the problem directly.
He claimed gardaí are failing to tackle drug pushers and are ignoring dealers operating just metres away.
Speaking at the launch of a Labour submission to the mid-term review of the National Drugs Strategy yesterday, Mr Costello said any drugs initiative taken by gardaí since the 1996 murder of Veronica Guerin had since waned completely.
“In 1996 there was a special drug unit put in place to deal with it and the gardaí were put on notice that this was a major direction of their activities. Up to that time, the gardaí did not get involved to any great extent.
“It’s gone back to that. You will see the gardaí patrolling along the street and you’ll see that the drug pushers are operating only a few yards away,” he said.
Calling for greater leadership from garda chiefs, Mr Costello said that with drug seizures declining by 30%, the force had lost its focus.
“We’ve reverted back to the old way things were and until that’s addressed and until there is proper leadership and proper direction and proper strategy in the gardaí to deal with it, the situation is going to get much, much, much worse,” he said.
Calling for cutbacks to be reversed, Mr Costello also urged the Government to introduce a dedicated Minister for State responsible for dealing with drugs who would have direct access to Cabinet.
“None of the State agencies dealing with the supply, control and reduction are working effectively - not the gardaí, the courts or the prisons,” he said.
Labour Kildare South TD Jack Wall also called on the Government to properly resource the local Drugs Task Forces to help combat drug abuse in rural Ireland.
“Every town and village in Ireland is affected by the problem. But rural areas are the poor relation when it comes to this issue,” he said.
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