Galway is . . . Macnas, Druid, Cuirt, the Arts Festival, the Roisin Dubh, and everything that makes for the hip and happy capital of the west. However, the city's positive image belies a growing crime problem, including a small but steady rise in the use of illegal drugs.
The increase is reflected in a recent survey of second and third- level students by the Garda. Conducted last December in 10 second-level schools and in NUI Galway and the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, the results show that 36.9 per cent of respondents in the 12 to 20-year age category had used drugs in the previous six months.
Though not considered alarming, the results show a 2.9 per cent increase in the two-year period between 1996 and 1998. The last survey, conducted by the Western Health Board in 1996, found that 34 per cent of respondents in a 15 to 25-year old age category had used illegal substances in the previous six months.
The Garda study was conducted on behalf of Chief Supt Tom Monaghan. The 1,051 respondents filled out an unsigned questionnaire voluntarily, and confidentiality was guaranteed. But, the authors warn, it is difficult to assess the veracity of all the replies.
Some 8.7 per cent of respondents said that they had used drugs only once in the past six months; 9.5 per cent had used drugs five to 10 times; 2.1 per cent had used drugs 10-20 times; 1.9 per cent had used drugs 20-30 times; 1.6 per cent had used drugs daily; and, significantly, 4 per cent had used drugs "at weekends only".
Breaking the figures down into individual substances, the results show increases in the use of cannabis, amphetamines, cocaine, and solvents in particular, when compared to the WHB survey. Some 17.3 per cent of respondents admitted to obtaining drugs from a friend; 4.8 per cent at a private party; 4.7 per cent at a disco or night club; 2.9 per cent from a regular supplier; and 0.3 per cent in a public house.
Pleasure and curiosity topped the table when it came to giving reasons for substance abuse, with peer pressure the least likely cause. "This would tend to show that young people do not appear to be led very much by what other people tell them," the survey notes. "If the findings are to be taken seriously, young people appear to make up their own minds."
Some 73.3 per cent of respondents believed drugs were readily available in Galway city and Salthill; 22.9 per cent said "no" and 3.8 per cent did not reply to this question. Some 47.4 per cent felt the drug situation in the same areas could be classified as serious, and 11.6 per cent very serious. Some 32.3 per cent didn't feel it was serious; and 8.6 per cent ticked the box marked "no problem".
The number of addicts or users was estimated at between 10 and 40 in the Castle Park area of Ballybane, with eight in Clareview Park, Ballybane and three in Oaklands, Salthill. This would mirror the trend in other large cities, where abuse is greatest in housing estates with high unemployment levels.
The greatest challenge for the gardai is undertaking preventative measures with very limited resources. An ad-hoc drugs unit of four gardai has been increased to a detective sergeant and 10 personnel, and links have been established with other agencies and with schools in relation to awareness programmes.
However, the gardai are understaffed and working in cramped quarters, and the Galway West division is under constant pressure. The staffing is still more suited to a country town than to the State's fastest-growing city, expanding at a rate of 2.5 per cent annually. Limerick, with a population of 52,000 compared to Galway's 57,000, has more than 100 extra gardai.
"Galway is a cosmopolitan city with all the policing problems of a major urban centre," Chief Supt Monaghan told The Irish Times. "We have to adjust our plans and goals accordingly.
"Of course, every Garda chief in the country is looking for more resources, but we are conducting a weekly analysis to strengthen our case, which we trust will be treated sympathetically."