Louth TD calls for ‘real conversation’ about prevalence of drugs

A ‘real conversation’ is needed about the prevalence of drugs and the impact they are having on society, Louth TD Ruairí Ó Murchú has said.

Speaking in the Dáil last week, the Sinn Féin deputy said the that while it is welcome that some people are coming around to ‘the health-led, trauma-led, harm reduction methodology required for dealing with drug addiction, that we accept it is based on poverty and intergenerational trauma, there is an understanding that if we continue doing what we are doing, it is not going to work’. 

He said that despite the good work of local projects such as The Red Door Project, Turas, FASN and MQI, ‘the regional drugs task forces are just about keeping the system going - keeping the engine going with baling twine’.

Deputy Ó Murchú said ‘drug addiction is everywhere’. He said: “We all know there is not a bar in operation that does not have a well-functioning toilet facility, and cocaine is everywhere. You just cannot avoid it. 

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“The fact is that the biggest impact is still in disadvantaged, working class areas. We can walk up and down the streets and we will know who the drug dealers are and the houses they live in. It has gone on for far too long. 

“That is with all the really good work that has been done at times by the Garda and the Criminal Assets Bureau, and we need to see more of that. We need to protect those who fall into addiction and give supports to those families who require them at an early stage. We need to make sure we invest in the likes of The Greentown Project and move people away from criminality in every way we possibly can”.

There is also a need, Deputy Ó Murchú said, for ‘a real conversation’. He said: “It is also about the chaos that impacts on people's lives, the deaths that have occurred, and the drug debt and intimidation that have impacted on a generation of drug addicts' families. 

“We also have to deal with the chaos that is caused to communities. Whether we are talking about Tusla, the Garda, the local council or all those other powers, educational services and everything, the tools and the powers are not there to deal with what is needed in supporting the addict, supporting their family and those communities that are impacted. 

“I ask that we get real and that we have a holistic conversation. We talk about whole-of-government approaches but we generally do not see them. This is just too costly to individuals and to society in general”.