Projects diverting youths in Louth from criminality lack resources

Youth projects that aim to divert young people away from criminality are doing “brilliant work” but are lacking in resources, Louth Sinn Féin TD Ruairí Ó Murchú has said.

The Dundalk deputy highlighted the work being done by youth projects in Dundalk, but pointed to the fact that drugs and fewer Gardaí are having a bad impact in many area. He was speaking during a debate in the Dáil on diverting young people away from criminality.

Deputy Ó Murchú said: “I have seen the huge work done by the High Voltage Project, which now has an early intervention piece, that operates out of The House in Cox's Demesne and also the TEAM youth diversion project operating out of the Muirhevnamor Community Youth Project.

“It is like all of these projects. We talk about brilliant people who are doing brilliant work but it is about the resources and at some stage we are coming too late to the problem.”

Read next: Louth property prices stay flat so far this year

Deputy Ó Murchú said drugs continue to be a major problem. He said: “Unfortunately for a significant part of the country, it is all about drugs. There needs to be a real conversation around the issues out there, in particular issues that are happening in working-class areas where it is a hell of a lot worse as regards drug debt intimidation and other issues which are impacted more by having fewer gardaí.

“We need to increase pressure in the next while because we just have too many bad examples of what are reasonably sized drug dealers, who, as I said last week, at times have had houses seized by CAB, which has carried out some serious operations against them.

“However, they are still in operation and they provide the bad example, particularly in these working-class areas that are suffering high levels of deprivation.
“We need to get real and we will engage with the Minister. However, there has to be a two-way engagement, a real conversation and a real plan.
“That means we need to go out there and assess the problem that we are dealing with because I do not think anyone has been serious about this to date.”