'£600M NEEDED' TO FIGHT DRUG SCOURGE

RESOURCES of the order of £600m similar to that allocated to provide
prisons must also be made available to communities fighting the ravages of
drugs, the National Crime Forum was told yesterday.

Fergus McCabe from the Inner City Organisation's network stressed that
resources of £20m to £30m were completely inadequate.

On top of financial resources, there also had to be a change of culture in
the management of government departments coupled with an intellectual
openness in addressing the problems.

Mr McCabe told the forum that despite its many faults, the Combined Parents
Against Drugs movement of the 80s represented a lost opportunity for the
authorities to win a place in the communities.

At the same time, prisons which had a huge scope to address the problem,
had failed to do so. The reality for now was that methadone would have to
continue to be part of the answer to the problem.

He revealed that in conjunction with the authorities, the smaller drug
pushers in the city centre are to be targeted in the coming weeks.

Mr McCabe said that while recognising the issue of civil liberties, the
authorities could move against them in the same way as they moved against
city street traders.

The Inner City Community leader pointed out that many of those in his area
in the flats complexes had been disconnected" from the State.

"Young people are divorced from the democratic system and there is ongoing
disconnection from the State in many blocks of flats."

Ann Quigley of the Dublin Citywide Drugs Crisis Campaign said that drug
users who come before courts should be referred directly to treatment
services.

Their sentence would depend on the progress which would be monitored and
residential places should be made available for those whose crimes were not
considered suitable for community work sentences.

She urged that money confiscated by the Criminal Assets Bureau from major
drug dealers be immediately handed over for use by treatment centres. It
could be recouped by the State when the CAB is finally given the court
order to take out the money from a frozen account.