*Cllr Michael Begley (IND). Photograph: Eamon Ward
A FORMER MAYOR OF CLARE has said young people are afraid to socialise in parts of the county because of the fear placed on them to take drugs.
There has been a reduction in drug offences detected by Gardaí in the county. 2022 figures for arrests on the sale and supply of drugs are down 44 percent from 73 in 2021 to 41 in 2022.
A drop of 21 percent has been recorded in offences for simple possession of drugs. The 2022 figure of 129 is 34 less than the 163 of 2021. Chief Superintendent of the Clare and Tipperary Garda Division, Colm O’Sullivan explained, “the 2022 figures are pending analysis to the types of drugs, those figures might increase”.
Speaking at the February meeting of the Clare Joint Policing Committee (JPC), Cllr Michael Begley (IND) remarked that a lot of the statistics relating to crime in the county “directly or indirectly feed back to the drug scene”. He questioned if there was “a soft approach” relating to drugs in the county.
Clonlara based Begley said he has two grand-children aged in their early twenties, “they won’t go to the pub unless their parents are with them because of the pressure that is put on them (to take drugs)”.
He continued, “Everyone can name the people trading and dabbling in the drug scene in their local area. I know you have to have emphasis on dealers at high end, a business cannot thrive without customers and there needs to be a focus at the small end, maybe it has to start in primary school, there is a general feeling among the population to keep their mouth shut they know what Johnny is doing but they are afraid”.
Chief Supt O’Sullivan insisted, “there is not a soft approach taken by Guards, that is the first thing”. He explained that a person under the age of 18 has to be admitted on the juvenile liaison scheme and if they are accepted they do not receive a prosecution, “if they are not accepted they could end up being prosecuted, any person over 18 with small quantity of drugs and no previous convictions are given a warning”.
All reports are followed up to establish the evidence, the Cork native stated. “There seems to be a significant change worldwide in relation to drug use, some States in America have legalised drugs, some people think it is okay to have recreational drugs, they will go out at the weekend do their line of coke and turn up to work on Monday morning or whatever morning it is. We need information from people in communities to ring us and let us know. If we’re not aware of it then we’re not in a position to act. We need to have that information, pick up the phone”.
