DRIVE programme support
Senator McCarthy urged full implementation of the DRIVE programme, linking it to the shocking killings in Edenderry and the wider threat of drug-related intimidation.
Today I raise the urgent need to support the full implementation of the drug-related intimidation and violence engagement, DRIVE, programme. It is put together by our task forces, one of which I am the chairperson of. Last weekend's horrific events in Edenderry where a grand-aunt, Mary Holt, and a four-year-old boy, Tadhg Farrell, were killed have shocked the entire country. The possibility that this is connected to drug-related intimidation is shocking and deeply disturbing. It also reflects what is going on in the country. I know in my own role as chair of the task force and with Tiglin that drug debt intimidation is real. It affects the most normal families whose son or daughter has got into trouble with drug debt and now the families are being targeted. It is targeted violence, criminal and coercive control. It is also tearing families apart. The DRIVE scheme, which I launched in the Keadeen Hotel for our area two years ago, was designed to respond positively to this crisis. We need to support it in order to reinforce it and get it off the ground. It brings together the drugs task forces, the HSE and the gardaí, with a specific garda given the charge in the area. It is meant to intervene early and support families. It is practical and evidence-based. I am asking for the Government to give it its full backing. It needs funding, resourcing and a clear mandate going forward. We cannot tolerate what is happening. Families in rural communities are living in fear of criminal gangs that believe they have the power to intimidate families. What happened in Edenderry needs to be a turning point. I saw the vigil last night. The community came out and supported Mary Holt and Tadhg Farrell. We need a commitment for the national roll-out. We need dedicated ring-fenced funding. We also need a clear message from this House that such drug debt intimidation will not be tolerated. No family should ever lose a family member because of drug-related intimidation. We have a model. The DRIVE model is evidence-based and it needs to be supported.