THE recent controversy regarding a letter written by Fianna Fáil Justice spokesperson Niall Collins to a judge on behalf of a convicted drug dealer has turned into a “political football match”, according to independent Limerick councillor John Gilligan.
Deputy Niall Collins was severely criticised last week for petitioning Limerick Circuit Court Judge Carroll Moran not to jail a Castleconnell drug dealer because of concerns over the welfare of his children following the tragic death of his wife earlier this year.
And, according to Cllr Gilligan, the Government and opposition, who have had a field day with the controversy, have attempted to score points at each other’s expense with personalities taking precedent over the central issue.
The independent City North councillor is bemused that the issue that drug taking is now commonplace across society and having a devastating effect on people’s lives has not been raised in the recent media storm.
“A significant amount of crime can be attributed to desperate people trying to fund an ever-expanding drug habit. Although there may be other issues involved, the growing evidence of self-harm and suicide among young people almost always has the common denominator of drug abuse involved,” said Cllr Gilligan.
“Mayhem in too many homes and murder on our streets is a price society pays as ruthless people compete with one another to make easy money on the misery of others. Our response to all this has been muted to say the least. When the weather is fine; we see a campaign warning on the dangers of swimming. Media advertising campaigns on the effect of smoking and speeding are commonplace but nothing on the dangers of hash or heroin,” he declared.
Cllr Gilligan also went on to praise the initiative of two young Limerick women who are calling on the Irish Government to decriminalise drug users. Laura Hughes (21) and Hayleigh Power (19) from Moyross, are spearheading a national campaign to decriminalise the possession of small quantities of drugs and replace it with an individually focused system, which aims to rehabilitate rather than punish.
“Do we believe if we ignore this issue it will go away? Recently the Limerick Post carried a story about two young women from Moyross who are organizing a petition to send to the Government to have those with a drug habit and are convicted having the option to spend their sentence in an enclosed drug rehabilitation centre instead of the present endless cycle of conviction, release, and re-offence.
“Somebody is attempting to come up with solutions. Maybe its time our TDs did too,” he concluded.
