In 2017 I wrote to the then Taoiseach asking for a Mulvey-style report to respond to community concerns in Ballymun around open drug dealing. While he declined and suggested this be done at local authority level, we went ahead and, as Ardmhéara Bhaile Átha Cliath, I commissioned a report which was recently circulated at the joint policing committee. I understand the Taoiseach has not yet received the report but I ask that when he does, he considers it fully and that the Government and agencies do likewise, and that a senior officials group be put in place to allow us to monitor its implementation. The concentration of the problem may be unique to Ballymun but it is a problem which impacts disadvantaged communities right across the country.

I thank Deputy McAuliffe for raising the issue. He is a long-time champion of specific and targeted initiatives to deal with disadvantage and drug dealing and to support communities more strongly in particular situations. I look forward to receiving the report. I have asked officials in my Department to look more broadly at this issue with a view to auditing existing services and identifying areas where we could introduce targeted initiatives such as the old RAPID programme, and also ensure there is a cross-departmental approach to enhancing the life experiences of people in communities that are under pressure from this kind of activity. I will come back to the Deputy and the House when we have further details on that.