Fianna Fáil TD for Cavan-Monaghan, Brendan Smith, has said that €3 million euro will be set aside by Fianna Fáil for a major national education campaign.

“Tackling the country’s crippling drug problem requires major reform and every day we hear stories of individuals, families and communities that have been left devastated by drugs and the violence which is associated with it. Unfortunately, we are not immune from this crisis in Counties Cavan and Monaghan. The response from the government has been inadequate and underwhelming.

“We plan to introduce legislation that will severely punish those who purchase drugs from children and those who use minors as cogs in their distribution network. An education campaign will be rolled out nationally to warn the public on the hazards of casual drug taking. We also plan to increase funding to drugs taskforces over the next two years and then review the situation further.

“We will also review the methadone treatment protocol as currently more than 10,000 people are currently on a methadone treatment programme,” concluded Deputy Smith.