I represent the constituency of Dublin North-West. The communities of Finglas and Ballymun have some of the highest deprivation in this country. The Minister has been out to visit us in Ballymun. I was at a community safety meeting in Ballymun just two weeks ago where members of the community outlined how there are primary school children walking to school past drug dealing. There is open drug dealing going on outside a school while children are walking to school. These children are not safe. These communities are not safe. It is the Minister’s responsibility and that of this Government to ensure that children can walk to primary school without having to pass open drug dealing. Those communities are not safe and they do not feel safe. People cannot go to the shops. What is the core of the issue? It is inequality and entrenched deprivation and neglect. To tackle it now we need community policing. We need increased levels of community policing and visible gardaí. The community says that as soon as gardaí are visible, standing there, the drug dealing moves off somewhere else. There is not enough policing there or community gardaí. We need it. The Irish Times today has a report showing that children as young as six are being groomed into drug dealing. I know it is happening – it is happening in my own community, in the inner city and in communities across this country. It is not acceptable. I know the Minister does not think it is acceptable but what is he going to do about it? Is he going to ensure that communities that are suffering deprivation like Finglas or Ballymun are as safe as anywhere else? Those children have a right and a need to be safe. If that was in Foxrock, does the Minister think walking past open drug dealing to get to a primary school would be allowed? It would not be tolerated for a second and we should not tolerate it anywhere.

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