Drug projects face being shut down

A NUMBER of drug projects will be shut down if funding cuts proposed in Bord Snip are implemented.

Direct funding to drug task forces is set to fall by €2 million, 12 jobs will go in the task forces, while funding for education projects will be cut by €1m.

In addition to the cuts, question marks hang over Government drug structures.

Bord Snip called for the abolition of the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.

The Government’s Drug Strategy Unit (DSU) is based in this department and is tasked with driving the forthcoming National Drugs Strategy 2009-2016.

The country’s 10 local drug task forces (LDTFs) and 10 regional drug task forces (RDTFs) have already been hit hard by funding cuts. The total budget has fallen from €34m to €32m this year.

Dr Joe Barry, chairman of the North Inner City LDTF, said: “We’ve already had a drop in funding. We have high levels of drug crime and violence in the north inner city. A lot of the effort of task forces was maintaining social cohesion. If task forces are squeezed too much that social cohesion could go.

“A lot of drug task force funding has been catch-up funding for decades of difficulties. Like any preventative programme, if they make a difference and you cut the funding then the problem will come back.”