Citywide welcomes the comments of an Taoiseach Enda Kenny that he is giving consideration to appointing a Junior Minister with responsibility for the National Drugs Strategy and calls on him to confirm an appointment as a matter of urgency. The Taoiseach made the comments yesterday when responding to a question from Pat Rabbitte T.D. on the Order of Business in the Dail.

Citywide has been actively campaigning for the appointment of a Junior Minister, pointing out that in the 20 years of Citywide’s existence, this is the first time that there has been no Junior Minister with specific responsibility for the Drugs Strategy .

Our current campaign is highlighting some of the key reasons why a Junior Minister is needed:
• 633 drug-related deaths in 2012
• a drugs trade in Ireland estimated to be worth 600 million
• a total of 64 actions that need to be implemented across 19 different government departments and agencies
• a 37% cut in budgets to services on the ground in communities in the last 6 years.

The call for a Junior Minister is being supported by many politicians across all parties and Independents and we urge the Taoiseach to act without any further delay. “Our communities need to see an immediate response from Government to show that they are willing to provide the strong leadership that is badly needed to address the drugs crisis” says Anna Quigley of Citywide.

Contact Anna Quigley: anna@citywide.ie
Tel: 01 8365090 or 8365039