Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 28 Mar 2001

Vol. 533 No. 4

Written Answers. - Drugs Offences.

Jack Wall

Question:

166 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of sem inars held by his Department in each Garda division over the past five years dealing with the drug problem; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9189/01]

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. O'Donoghue)

Under the multi-agency National Drugs Strategy Initiative, my Department conducted a drugs seminar on 6 December 1999 in the Dublin Metropolitan West Region.

The purpose of the seminar was to provide and exchange information in order to facilitate better co-ordination and integration of services relating to the implementation of strategy plans prepared by the 13 local drugs task forces. Presentations were made by senior officials from all the rel evant divisions and agencies within my Department, which included Crime, Garda, Courts, Prisons, Garda Síochána (Community Relations, Garda National Drugs Unit) and the Probation and Welfare Service. The presentations addressed for the respective areas, the overall policy regarding drugs and local drugs task forces, representation on task forces, existing programmes, planned programmes, mainstreaming of funding to successfully evaluated task force projects, and other relevant issues.

In addition, details in relation to drug lectures given by the Garda Síochána are contained in the Garda Síochána annual reports for the years 1995-99 and are set out as follows. The statistics for 2000 are not available yet.

Number of Drug Lectures by the Garda Síochána

Division	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
DMA East	34	38	31	26	46
DMA North Central	18	33	55	28	52
DMA North	176	60	106	183	30
DMA South Central	1	51	70	45	38
DMA South	51	307	170	93	54
DMA West	–	–	–	87	23
Carlow/Kildare	143	125	123	69	20
Laois/Offaly	120	93	125	103	104
Longford/Westmeath	91	74	72	75	147
Louth/Meath	183	207	152	167	137
Cavan/Monaghan	74	89	8	80	80
Donegal	141	126	140	123	92
Sligo/Leitrim	112	72	13	71	86
Tipperary	276	231	237	119	140
Waterford/Kilkenny	121	70	149	143	221
Wexford/Wicklow	–	–	–	174	114
Wexford	249	151	141	–	–
Cork City	–	–	179	130	65
Cork East	233	210	–	–	–
Cork North	–	–	72	66	63
Cork West	131	50	56	41	19
Kerry	133	128	135	122	143
Limerick	111	66	104	92	45
Clare	96	76	23	22	28
Galway	86	–	–	–	–
Galway West	–	60	43	60	75
Mayo	51	48	51	32	30
Roscommon/Galway East	–	62	85	32	48
Roscommon	68	–	–	–	–