Sinn Féin TD Imelda Munster has welcomed Vivian Geiran’s report on Crime in Drogheda, sayinging that it lays bare the level of underinvestment in Drogheda by successive government and the need for significant investment in the town as a matter of urgency.
The report was commissioned by the Minister for Justice and contains over 70 recommendations in areas including crime prevention, youth services, drug addiction, education, infrastructure, community development and local government, and calls for significant investment in services for the town to address the ongoing problems with drugs related crime and gang activity.
Deputy Munster said:
“Drogheda has suffered as a result of decades of under-investment. In recent years we have had to deal with a serious drugs feud and associated crime, which has been compounded by the lack of services in the town.
“This report is a first step in identifying areas where we need investment, both short term, for example the need for more outreach workers and addictions services in the town, but also in the longer term with a need for community resources such as community centres and improved local amenities. The ongoing problems with housing, social deprivation and a lack of further education facilities and employment were also highlighted in the report.
“The report has put forward suggested solutions in terms of improved leadership in managing the significant problems facing Drogheda today, including potentially involving central government departments.
“In my opinion a lot of these shortcomings in terms of local management stem from when the Labour and Fine Gael government stripped Drogheda of its Borough Council and cut other local services during the recession.
“All these cuts have consequences, and the consequences for the people of Drogheda have been devastating with the town finding itself poorly equipped to deal with the problems that came with the drug gangs and associated crime, intimidation and anti-social behaviour.
“We need to get local forums up and running to deal with these issues as a matter or urgency, and we need buy in from the government to fund initiatives that will support our youth and provide targeted services for vulnerable and at-risk young people. We also need to address the deficits in addiction services and ensure that we take a strong inter-agency approach in dealing with the problems we are facing. A strong community Garda presence is another area that we need to look at in the short term.
“I understand that a full implementation plan is due to be published by the end of April, and I look forward to seeing the plan, and working with stakeholders in Drogheda to bring about the change we need.
“We can only improve the situation in Drogheda if the government is willing to fund the services identified in the report. Successive governments have had a poor track record when it comes to delivering for Drogheda, and unfortunately this government is taking the same approach, as we saw recently when the Port Access Northern Cross Route project was denied funding under the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund.
“As a TD for Louth and a proud citizen of Drogheda I will be pushing this government to implement this plan to improve services in Drogheda every step of the way.”
