The Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, has repeated his intention of pursuing a "zero tolerance" campaign against drug traffickers and serious criminals. In his first address on the issue as Minister, at the unveiling of a book of statistics compiled by the Garda on drug-related crime in Dublin, Mr O'Donoghue promised a relentless fight against crime.
Noting that the research showed the clear links between drug abuse and organised crime, he said: "These scourges undermine the whole fabric of our society and blight the lives of countless young people. The drive against drug abuse and the profiteers who enrich themselves at the cost of so much human misery serves as a prime example of zero tolerance in action.
"Zero tolerance is a proactive concept. Those who try to reduce it to a debate about trivialities are doing no service to the citizens of this country. We all know that there are certain forms of criminal activity, and the drug scene is one of them, which cause great harm in our society. There can only be one response to it. Zero tolerance is that response."
Mr O'Donoghue promised that the fight against serious crime would be stepped up in the ways outlined in the Programme for Government. However, he stressed that any campaign against drugs would require help from the health and education authorities.
The Garda report, "Illicit Drug Use and Related Criminal Activity In the Dublin Metropolitan Area", shows that very high percentages of drug addicts leave school early and without qualifications.
Mr O'Donoghue said: "It is clear that effective action against drugs requires concerted action by the relevant authorities, both inside and outside the law and order system. It is a problem which warrants the attention of the community as a whole."
He said the abuse of alcohol by young people was an equally serious problem and one he would be addressing.
The report, launched yesterday at Garda Headquarters, underlines the link between social and educational deprivation and drug addiction.
It says: "Over one-third of respondents had left school before the official school-leaving age and two-thirds of all respondents had no educational qualification on leaving school.
"This, together with the fact that four-fifths of respondents had a poor or no understanding of the effects of drug use and that the main reason cited for experimenting with drugs was simple curiosity, poses important questions for drugs awareness programmes, particularly concerning those vulnerable individuals in their early teens who, for various reasons, find themselves outside the education system at an early age."
The report says the supply of drugs was reduced in the final months of last year when there was an upsurge in vigilante activity in Dublin.
"The reduction in the supply of drugs in recent months has been influenced by a number of factors. Firstly, organised and concerted action against drug dealing on local housing estates by community and neighbourhood groups. Second, a number of important Garda operations which commenced following the murders of journalist Veronica Guerin and Detective Garda Gerry McCabe in June 1996.
"Thirdly, within the Dublin Metropolitan Area, Operation Dochas commenced in November, 1996."
Assistant Garda Commissioner Tom King, who has responsibility for policing in Dublin, said crime in the city this year was down by 29 per cent in some areas.