PROPOSALS FOR DRUGS COURTS TO BE STUDIED

Proposals to establish special courts to deal with drugs offenders will be
considered by an expert group, meeting in Dublin this weekend.

The meeting of Irish and American experts - convened by the chairwoman of
the Courts Commission, Mrs Justice Susan Denham - will study the
feasibility of "drugs courts" for people charged with non-violent drugs
offences.

Plans for the meeting were announced by the Minister for Justice, Mr
O'Donoghue, during his 11/2 -hour visit yesterday to Ballymun, in north
Dublin, where he heard details of community, local authority and Garda
co-operation in tackling the area's drugs problems.

The idea of special drugs courts was put forward by Fianna Fail during last
year's election campaign, and Mr O'Donoghue said he was very supportive of
the idea. It could lead to non-violent drugs offenders being sent for
rehabilitation, where appropriate, instead of serving normal custodial
sentences.

Mr O'Donoghue said a representative of the commission had recently returned
from the US with a favourable report on the operation of drugs courts
there. But he stressed that ultimately their implementation would be a
matter for the Courts Service which would be independent of the Department
of Justice and was expected to be established by the autumn.

The Minister's visit was at the invitation of the local drugs task force,
which particularly wanted to draw his attention to the inadequate
facilities at the local Garda station.

If the station was overcrowded previously, it certainly was yesterday as
the Minister toured the narrow corridors accompanied by a phalanx of
gardai, community activists, civil servants, corporation officials, a TV
crew, photographers and reporters.

The Minister agreed the building was inadequate to cater for the 59 gardai
stationed there and the needs of community representatives who had to
travel to Santry and Whitehall stations for meetings with Garda
representatives. He said the Office of Public Works was looking for another
site.

The tour concluded with a meeting at which locals outlined the extent of
the drugs problem in the area.

However, locals and gardai agreed that in spite of the prevailing problems,
co-operation between the community and the Garda has been excellent.

Anti-drugs marches in the area have led to none of the tension between
activists and the authorities associated with some areas of Dublin. "The
guards here take part in the marches," said Mr Sean O Cionnaith, chairman
of the Ballymun Local Drugs task force. New closed-circuit cameras operated
jointly by the Garda, Dublin Corporation and community representatives, and
financed by a #60,000 grant from the ministerial drugs task force, will be
in place next month.

Mr Hugh Greaves, co-ordinator of the Ballymun task force, said these would
help the gardai deal with the changing nature of the drugs problem which
has seen an increase in the number of pushers.