'Drug barons' operating 'in every Laois parish'

Drug dealers are trapping young people into drug use and criminality in ‘every parish in Laois ’, according to a TD who insists these ‘barons’ will use extortion, blackmail and intimidation to collect debts.

Brian Stanley TD outlined the situation he says exists in his constituency in the wake of the deaths in Waterford of Philip, Kim English, Callum and Jayden English after a firebomb attack on their home.

Though based in Portlaoise, Dep Stanley said families in rural and urban Laois are suffering at the hands of local dealers who will target families to recover addiction debts.

“Across urban and rural Ireland, in all counties, drug barons are using extortion, blackmail and intimidation. It is happening in every parish in Laois, the county I represent. Drug barons are trapping often vulnerable young people into drug use, drug dealing and criminal activity.

“These drug dealers ensnare young people through addiction and debt. These debts are collected through fear, intimidation and extortion. They are often collected outside post offices, banks and places where people receive social welfare payments and pensions.

“Parents and grandparents, as has been said, are targeted to pay off loans. Loans are got from moneylenders, credit unions and friends to clear drug debts. Layers of interest are added on by dealers and often by illegal moneylenders to pay these debts,” he said.

The Laois TD said the methods were used by “thugs” with tragic consequences for the English family in Waterford. He recounted a similar fatal incident in Offaly, which he represented in the Dáil for nearly a decade.

“Unfortunately, this is not the first time we have seen a situation like this. We had the terrible case of Mary Holt and her little grandson in Edenderry. What happened there was scandalous,” he said.

Dep Stanley said other victims have been brought to isolated areas and shot dead or suffered serious injury. He said young people have been stabbed in rows over drug debts in houses and in alleyways.

“The silence these thugs have created around their despicable criminal activity has to be broken. The Government or the Dáil Chamber cannot do this alone. This requires a whole-of-society approach,” he said.

The TD praised the Garda DRIVE initiative but called for its expansion and also a raising of awareness about its existence.

“We have to get to the point where victims go sooner and share as much information as possible confidentially with An Garda,” he said.

He had a message for better-off drug users.

“It is the case that middle-class people use drugs for recreational purposes, but vulnerable young people are also using them. Those people who are using them for recreational purposes should stand back and take a look at themselves,” he said.

He called for a tougher approach to the dealers.

“We have to come at this very strongly. Dealers have to be treated as pariahs in local communities, not people with status. The local drug units, which do good work, need to be resourced properly and we need to launch a major crackdown targeting dealers. There is good work ongoing, but we need to add to that work with more Garda units. Responses need to be co-ordinated at local level with gardaí, communities and community groups.

“The big message is that we need to break the silence the dealers have created. We need to treat them as unwanted in communities. We need well-resourced Garda drugs units to create a serious crackdown and to step up the crackdown on dealers. We cannot allow these thugs to have any level of local or national control and instil terror in families and communities. We have seen in recent months that even those who are in faraway places and at the top of the tree have been brought to justice, and all of that is welcome. The Government is going after the money, and when it does so, it catches people,” he said.

Dep Stanley said another element required is the return of the Joint Policing Committees, which he said have been replaced by “harmless talking shops”.

“We need proper community safety committees. I do not care what they are called, but we need proper committees at local level, with gardaí, community representatives, elected representatives and other interested parties involved,” he said.

He also wants victims to be helped.

“We need to provide support for victimised families, and they need protection, where necessary. In serious cases, and as a last resort, that may mean relocation. Obviously, we are failing when we get to that point, but where it has to be done, it should be done,” he said.

The TD called for “an all-of-society approach”.

“There has to be a change in gear in terms of how we address what has happened and the terrible events in Waterford. We now need to step up a gear and get on top of this problem,” he concluded.

The TD spoke during a debate on a Sinn Féin private members' motion on October 20.