Drug dealers are selling drugs "under the noses" of gardaí throughout the State, Labour's justice spokesman, Mr Joe Costello, claimed yesterday. Warning of a "total epidemic" of abuse and addiction, he claimed the Garda was losing the battle against drug dealers and suppliers.
At the publication of Labour's submission to the mid-term review of the 2001-2008 National Drugs Strategy, Mr Costello said the drug problem had worsened significantly since the strategy was put in place.
"Drug dealing is taking place and drug distribution is taking place in lots of places under the noses of the gardaí," he said.
Mr Costello said none of the State agencies dealing with the supply, control and reduction were working effectively. This included the Garda, the courts and the Prison Service.
"The local drugs task forces are starved of funding and the cutbacks in community employment schemes and jobs initiative had made progress towards rehabilitation virtually impossible.
"Rehabilitation should be a separate and fifth pillar of the National Drugs Strategy to underline the importance of people moving on in their lives after a period of treatment."
He said the 30 per cent reduction in drug seizures by the Garda in their quarterly report was "not an indication of supply reduction" but a measure of the failure on the part of the Garda to seize cannabis, ecstasy, heroin and cocaine.
"Resourcing of the local drugs task forces should be a priority so that community projects and community support measures would be put in place where young people are at risk.
"The future of the local drugs task forces should be guaranteed and the community role should be strengthened by the addition of at least two extra community representatives to the National Drugs Strategy Team."
While Mr Costello declined to comment on the performance of the Minister of State with responsibility for the problem, Mr Noel Ahern, the Labour document said Mr Ahern failed to appreciate that the pattern of drug abuse was rapidly changing for the worse.
Pointing out that Mr Ahern also had responsibility for housing, Mr Costello said the Government should appoint a dedicated minister of state with exclusive responsibility for drugs strategy. Such an individual should have direct access to the Cabinet, he added.
However, he declined to say whether Mr Ahern was the man for the job.
Alcohol abuse and illegal drug abuse were increasingly interlinked, Mr Costello said, adding that alcohol should be included in the "family" of drugs to be addressed in a future national drugs strategy.
The Kildare South TD, Mr Jack Wall, said "every town and village" in Ireland was affected by the problem, despite the image that it was confined to urban areas. "It still seems that the resources to tackle drug abuse are concentrated very heavily in urban areas while rural areas are the poor relation when it comes to this issue."
