Crime & Law

Illegal drugs in ‘every, nook, cranny, parish and village’ in Kerry, meeting hears

Joint policing committee hears calls for a wider preventive campaign along the lines of road safety campaigns

One-third of detections of driving while intoxicated in recent weeks were cocaine and cannabis related, the meeting was told. Photograph: Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision
One-third of detections of driving while intoxicated in recent weeks were cocaine and cannabis related, the meeting was told. Photograph: Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision
Anne Lucey
Fri Dec 16 2022 - 20:45

Illegal drugs are now in “every, nook, cranny, parish and village” in Kerry, a meeting of the county’s joint policing committee (JPC) heard on Friday where calls were made for a joint operation between schools and gardaí to tackle the problem.

In some cases “huge” drug debt was being shouldered by parents of young people in the county and there was also intimidation.

One-third of detections of driving while intoxicated in recent weeks were now cocaine and cannabis related, with two-thirds due to alcohol, the meeting was told.

“Before it was large towns and cities. But it is coming in now to villages,” Listowel area Cllr Michael Foley, Fine Gael, of Ballylongford in north Kerry said.

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Age was not a barrier and the fear of experimenting with substances had receded, the meeting in Tralee heard from Cllr Norma Moriarty, Fianna Fáil, of Waterville in south Kerry.

Illegal drugs were appearing in “every nook and cranny of our county”, she said.

Cllr Moriarty was among a number of members calling for a wider preventive campaign along the lines of successful road safety campaigns.

The lives of the “finest of people” were being destroyed and parents were being left to tackle “huge” drug debt incurred by their children, Cllr Michael Cahill, Fianna Fáil, of Glenbeigh in the Kenmare council area said.

Kerry’s new Garda chief superintendent, Padraic Powell, told his first Kerry JPC meeting he did not want the idea to go out that Kerry was “awash with drugs”. This would not be true. The division’s drugs unit was adequately resourced and there had been a number of key seizures recently. He said he was already considering a school visits campaign in relation to drugs. A dedicated Garda inspector was also being appointed to drive on the campaign against drugs in the division.

There had been 473 detections of possession of drugs for personal use so far in 2022 and 84 detections of drugs for sale or supply, Chief Supt Powell outlined.