Deputy Seán Crowe: We saw how crack cocaine hollowed out inner cities in America. Unfortunately, we are starting to see it happening in Ireland. Crack cocaine has the potential to destroy individuals and their families but it also puts enormous pressure on communities. The Tallaght drugs and alcohol task force, which also covers Whitechurch, serves a catchment area containing twice as many people and it does so with less money than it had ten years ago. That is not acceptable. The levels of intimidation relating to drugs are up. There is open drug-dealing in many estates and suicides have become more common. The age group of those involved is really frightening, with some as young as ten involved in selling and using drugs. One third of those involved are, as we heard, women and many are being forced into sex work in order to pay drug debts, but also, in many cases, just to buy a rock of crack cocaine.

Even before the cocaine appeared, many of our community-based rehabilitation services were under extreme financial pressure and losing staff. Staff have not had a pay rise in ten years because they are section 39 workers. Crack cocaine requires more complex interventions and resources, and addicts need more time. This means that many project workers are left exhausted and drained. It is a game-changer, so we need changes. With this new crisis, we are asking people to do more with less money and fewer resources while expecting better outcomes. This is a crazy approach. The lack of joined-up thinking must stop. It reflects in the past a complete lack of compassion, empathy or understanding of what is actually happening in many of our communities. The people I represent are really proud people. The do not want handouts; they want a hand up. That is what they are asking for in the context of the ground breaking research that has been done. There are practical solutions and thus a way forward. That is the message we want to hear coming back from the Minister of State.

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