Cocaine addiction and drugs enforcement
Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor highlighted a sharp rise in cocaine addiction among women and asked what was being done to tackle drug imports and support gardaí and services. The Taoiseach pointed to stronger Garda resourcing, recruitment and follow-up from the Ministers for Justice and Health.
The Health Research Board has advertised that cocaine addiction among Irish women has risen by almost 400% in six years. Last year, 1,300 women sought treatment. What is the Government doing to address this? What measures are being taken to stop large shipments of drugs? What additional supports are being given to our gardaí and service agencies?
Comment on this
I very much remember from my time in the Departments of Health and Justice the excellent work that is done to seize these issues. We are continuing to beef up the resources to An Garda Síochána. As we increase the recruitment of gardaí, this will enable the Garda Commissioner to allocate more resources to those areas. I take very seriously the point the Deputy makes in terms of health, well-being and the dangers this presents to our population. I will certainly ask the Ministers for Justice and Health to send the Deputy the latest update on the work that is ongoing.