O'Donoghue restates 'zero tolerance' in drugs fight
By Jim Cusack

The Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, has repeated his intention of
pursuing a "zero tolerance" campaign against drug traffickers and serious
criminals.

In his first address on the issue as Minister, at the unveiling of a book
of statistics compiled by the Gardai on drugrelated crime in Dublin, Mr
O'Donoghue promised a relentless fight against crime.

Noting that the research showed the clear links between drug abuse and
organised crime, he said: "These scourges undermine the whole fabric of our
society and blight the lives of countless young people. The drive against
drug abuse and the profiteers who enrich themselves at the cost of so much
human misery serves as a prime example of zero tolerance in action.

"Zero tolerance is a proactive concept. Those who try to reduce it to a
debate about trivialities are doing no service to the citizens of this
country. We all know that there are certain forms of criminal activity, and
the drug scene is one of them, which cause great harm in our society. There
can only be one response to it. Zero tolerance is that response."

Mr O'Donoghue promised that the fight against serious crime would be
stepped up in the ways outlined in the Programme for Government. However,
he stressed that any campaign against drugs would require help from the
health and education authorities.

The Garda report, "Illicit Drug Use and Related Criminal Activity In the
Dublin Metropolitan Area", shows that very high percentages of drug addicts
leave school early and without qualifications.

Mr O'Donoghue said: "It is clear that effective action against drugs
requires concerted action by the relevant authorities, both inside and
outside the law and order system. It is a problem which warrants the
attention of the community as a whole."

He said the abuse of alcohol by young people was an equally serious problem
and one he would be addressing.

The report, launched yesterday at Garda Headquarters, underlines the link
between social and educational deprivation and drug addiction.

It says: "Over onethird of respondents had left school before the official
schoolleaving age and twothirds of all respondents had no educational
qualification on leaving school.

"This, together with the fact that fourfifths of respondents had a poor or
no understanding of the effects of drug use and that the main reason cited
for experimenting with drugs was simple curiosity, poses important
questions for drugs awareness programmes, particularly concerning those
vulnerable individuals in their early teens who, for various reasons, find
themselves outside the education system at an early age."

The report says the supply of drugs was reduced in the final months of last
year when there was an upsurge in vigilante activity in Dublin.

"The reduction in the supply of drugs in recent months has been influenced
by a number of factors. Firstly, organised and concerted action against
drug dealing on local housing estates by community and neighbourhood
groups. Second, a number of important Garda operations which commenced
following the murders of journalist Veronica Guerin and Detective Garda
Gerry McCabe in June 1996.

"Thirdly, within the Dublin Metropolitan Area, Operation Dochas commenced
in November, 1996."

Assistant Garda Commissioner Tom King, who has responsibility for policing
in Dublin, said crime in the city this year was down by 29 per cent in some
areas.

_ Copyright: The Irish Times