ACTIVISTS CLAIM GOVERNMENT FAILING TO HONOUR £20M PLEDGE

Anti-drugs activists in Dublin will start an intensive campaign today to
force the Government to reverse what they say is its U-turn on a commitment
to spend £20 million on youth projects in drug-blighted areas.

Campaigners accuse the Government of acting in bad faith by allocating only
an initial £1.25 million for the Youth Services Development Fund.

The fund - a key recommendation in the second report of the Ministerial
Task Force on Measures to Reduce the Demand for Drugs - was sanctioned by
the rainbow coalition's cabinet last May. It committed £20 million from
1998 to 2000, with the corporate sector also invited to make a contribution.

The fund was designed to provide services for young people in disadvantaged
areas, offering an alternative to the drug culture.

Anti-drugs workers insist that they received pre-election commitments on
the issue from Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats. They say the
Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, pledged to at least match the funding commitment of
the previous administration to tackle the State's drugs problem.

But the Minister of State, Mr Chris Flood, has insisted that the £20
million budget was "aspirational". Within the past month he announced a
seed grant of £1.25 million for the scheme.

A spokesman for Mr Flood said the Minister was not in a position to say how
much money would follow the initial grant. "It's up to Government
deliberation," he said.

The chairpersons of the 13 local drugs task forces set up by the
ministerial task force on drugs in 1996 - 12 in Dublin and one in Cork -
will meet today to plan a campaign to have the £20 million budget
reinstated. They are also calling for an urgent meeting with Mr Ahern.

The Dublin City-Wide Drugs Crisis Campaign is organising a demonstration by
young people outside the Dail when it resumes on January 28th. It has
already co-ordinated letters of protest from community organisations to Mr
Ahern and Mr Flood. Its co-ordinator, Ms Anna Quigley, said there was
"concern that the current level of funding for the youth fund reflects
Fianna Fail's overall position on the drugs issue.

"It appears that they are not as committed to the drugs problem as we would
like them to be. Their approach is more directed towards law and order and
headline-grabbing. Everybody agrees with going after major drug dealers,
but there's no point in doing that unless you do the work on the ground
with young people because if you put one drug dealer away another one will
come along if there is a demand."

The Inner City Organisations' Network (ICON) said it was "very concerned"
about the issue and had already raised it with Mr Ahern.

The Independent TD, Mr Tony Gregory, said the decision "to renege on the
£20 million commitment suggests that the Government is not prepared to take
the necessary steps to deal with either social exclusion or the drugs
crisis that stems from it".

Mr David Connolly, the chairman of the drugs task force in Ballyfermot,
said the task forces could not be expected to work in the absence of a firm
Government commitment to provide the necessary long-term resources.

Mr Sean O'Cionnath, chairman of the Ballymun drugs task force, said local
groups were "concerned that the rug has been pulled out from under us and
we intend to put it back".

"If we're seriously going to ensure that fewer youths will die from
drug-related illnesses, there is a need for serious financial commitment.
We're angry that our hopes have been dashed by a sudden announcement and
we're not letting the Government get away with it."