When Justice Minister Helen Mc Entee announced this week that a €2 million fund comprised of money confiscated from criminals is to be used to invest in projects to improve community safety, it was the culmination of a sustained campaign by two Independent councillors, Paddy McQuillan and Maeve Yore.
The campaign began in July 2020 when Garda Chief Superintendent Christy Mangan told a Drogheda Joint Policing Committee meeting that the Gardaí had seized €1m in cash from criminals as a direct result of the feud that had engulfed the town.
Councillor Mc Quillan was at the meeting and asked if it was possible that some, if not all of this money be redirected back into the communities that were directly affected by the feud.
The Councillor’s Proceeds of Crime Initiative culminated in Minister Helen Mc Entee’s announcement last week that the Community Safety Innovation Fund of €2m was now open to applications and could be a game-changer for many local organisations.
“I’m extremely happy with the outcome, this initiative was common sense to me” McQuillan told Drogheda Life.
“Money gained from drugs and criminality should be redirected back into the communities that have suffered. I asked Deputy Fergus O’Dowd to ask Minister Mc Entee, on my behalf, if she would be open to the idea of drawing up legislation to have these monies seized available to communities and organisations.
“Thankfully she said that she was open to the idea and I would personally like to thank her for getting behind this.”
“What started as a local initiative soon became a national initiative. Myself and Independent Maeve Yore contacted Independent Councillors around the country and explained what I had proposed.
“Over fifteen Independent Councillors then wrote to Minister Mc Entee through their respective councils urging her to draw up the necessary legislation to allow the proceeds of crime to go back to communities.
“The announcement this week is a real positive outcome. This is real change and it shows that Independent Councillors=s can bring about social change that benefits society and communities.”
Cllr Mc Quillan, who was the first to call the people of Drogheda on the streets to demand government intervention on the feud, was delighted to see his initiative as a recommendation in the Geiran Report Implementation Plan.
“The fact that my initiative was a recommendation in the Implementation Plan, added weight to having the legislation introduced”, he said.
“I would like to thank Deputy O’Dowd for his help, my colleague Cllr Maeve Yore, and also all the Independent Councillors across the country who rolled in behind this.
“There is now €2m there that wasn’t there before and groups and organisations throughout the country will benefit. I’m very proud to have contributed to real social change that will affect hundreds of thousands of people in the years to come.”
See our previous article:
Proceeds of Crime Fund to support community projects opens for applications
