Thousands Arrested for Drug Offences in Cavan Garda Division - Cllr Sarah O'Reilly
27/8/2024
Thousands of people have been arrested for Drug offences in the Garda Division that covers Cavan over the past decade.
Figures released to Aontú by the Minister for Justice show that 11,467 people were arrested for drug offences throughout the district which covers Cavan, Monaghan and Louth, with the number of arrests peaking in 2021 and 2022.
Aontú Cllr Sarah O’Reilly says the figures are ‘shocking’ and a ‘wakeup call’ to the Government to “get a handle on the scourge of drugs in towns and villages throughout the county for once and for all”.
She says: “There is hardly a village in Cavan that is untouched by drugs. The ease with which people of all ages and of all backgrounds can access them is frightening and the knock-on ramifications are huge. Crime, serious addiction, family breakdown, desolation and desperation are their hallmarks, and they leave indelible marks on their users. I witnessed daytime open drug dealing on several occasions in housing estates of local towns during my recent canvass; I met people living in fear of gangs of seemingly untouchable’ dealers openly dealing in estates. I spoke with people who are crippled with huge drug debts owed by loved ones and living in a constant state of fear”.
“Obviously for the drug crisis to be at this level of epidemic, it is as a result of chronic under resourcing of services and of our Garda force, which results in poor policing visibility, ineffective customs operations and nearly zero enforcement. In my view we are in a very dangerous position when there are some areas that are past the point of no return, it’s totally out of control and what’s sad is that there are very few talking about it publicly, it’s almost as if people feel they are letting their county down by admitting the problems are at the extent they are. I feel the drugs issue is out of control and until there is radical improvement and changes with addiction services and Garda resources it will steadily get worse and we will have many, many more ‘no go’ areas and unfortunate families being pulled apart with little supports”.
“We have a serious problem with falling Garda numbers; record numbers of Gardai left the force last year and this is a terrible pattern under Fine Gael. For every year that Fine Gael has been in government the number of Gardaí has fallen, morale is at an all-time low and the number of resignations has skyrocketed. It’s a perfect storm. Our naval fleet has been decimated by this and successive Governments and it is well known that we are seen as a soft touch by the drug lords who ply their trade up and down our shores. The massive increase in drugs being channeled from Irish waters into mainland Europe once again shows up the vulnerability of our coastline due to the gutting of our Naval service. Our rugged, and in many ways isolated coastline is a highly attractive gateway to the European Continent”.
“Why are so many Naval boats in Ireland tied up--we spent millions buying two more from New Zealand in the past couple of years, just to bring them in and tie them up to our ports and pier walls as we cannot find the resources to employ enough Naval staff to put them to sea. “Can you imagine how the drug lords in Europe and beyond must see us; this is absolute madness, they are laughing at us and laughing all the way to the bank and on the backs of people to whom they ply their disgusting trade”.
ENDS
