The use of heroin demanded a firm response from the Government, Mr Eoin Ryan, the Minister of State with special responsibility for State drugs strategy, said in Cork yesterday.
Introducing a drug task force for the southern region, Mr Ryan said while it was acknowledged that cannabis and ecstasy were available in most towns, heroin had not been considered a major problem outside of Dublin until now. Heroin was beginning to creep in, however, and action must be taken to prevent it getting a grip in towns such as Athlone, Arklow, Portlaoise, Sligo and Birr.
Regional drug task forces were being established in the various health board areas, Mr Ryan said, to ensure the concerns of people on the ground were taken directly into account.
The new task forces were the culmination of the most extensive public consultation involving law-enforcement agencies, the health boards and local voluntary organisations. The process began last May and resulted in 190 written submissions to the national drugs strategy.
Dublin, Cork and Bray had coordinated anti-drug structures, but until the regional task forces were set up, similar structures did not exist elsewhere in the State. The specific objectives of the regional bodies would be: supply reduction, prevention, treatment and research.
Mr Ryan said financing the regional task forces would not be a problem as funding was available from the £15 billion provided for social inclusion in the national development programme.