The drug trade must not be allowed to ravage our most disadvantaged areas any longer, according to Social Democrats Councillor Daniel Ennis and justice spokesperson Gary Gannon TD.
Councillor Ennis said:
“Over 1,000 cases of drug-related intimidation were recorded by drug and alcohol services in 2025, which affected all age groups, including children and the elderly.
“Today’s report from DRIVE found that the detriments of drug related intimidation spreads throughout households and families, with almost two-thirds of the people affected living with partners, parents or children. Some of our most vulnerable are caught in the crossfire of these crimes.
“Only 10% of the reported cases of drug-related intimidation were reported to Gardaí, despite some cases escalating to threats toward family members and violence towards the individual – in nearly 50% of cases, intimidation was shown to go on for longer than six months. Cocaine was the drug involved in the majority of reported instances.
“Before these statistics were released, only 4% of drug-related intimidation cases resulted in prosecutions out of the 2,500 cases reported since 2021.
“Drug-related intimidation and the harms of the drug trade are particularly prominent in Dublin’s North Inner City, in areas that have been long forgotten about by successive governments, left to fend for themselves.
“Teenagers, even young children, are being used as drug mules across the country, with over 1,000 minors coerced into working in the drug trade.
“Arson attacks linked to drug debt have quadrupled in four years. Debt is sold between gangs so that families who pay once are forced to pay again.
“Poverty is the one consistent factor in the grooming of children into crime. The conditions of their birth make them vulnerable to exploitation.
“Only adequate investment in visible community policing, youth diversion programmes, and local sports and culture initiatives can loosen the grip the drug trade has on Dublin’s Inner City and disadvantaged areas across Ireland.”
Deputy Gannon said:
“If Fine Gael really was the party of law and order, it would have significantly invested in stopping this practice long ago.
“Tánaiste Simon Harris must put his money where his mouth is and direct adequate resources to end drug-related intimidation in our most vulnerable communities across the country.”