KILDARE GENERAL: 4 April 2001: by Brian Byrne. Drug convictions in the Carlow-Kildare Garda Division increased from 59 in 1995 to 319 in 1999, according to figures given to Deputy Jack Wall recently.
He says the trend is in marked contrast to the numbers of drugs awareness seminars held in the division, which dropped from 143 in 1995 to just 20 in 1999. And he noted that there are now only 31 gardai in the division qualified to act as Juvenile Liaison Officers, leaving the division 19th in the country in relation to this.
"However, the number of gardai dealing exclusively with the drug problem in the division, at 11, is similar to other divisions of similar size," he says. "But overall, statistics are a stark reminder of the problems that drugs and the effects of drugs are having on our society."
There has been a major increase in the number of addicts seeking assistance, with Eastern Region Health Board figures - which do not include Carlow - showing 5,155 such patients in 1999 compared to 4,283 in 1996.
And the numbers in receipt of methadone treatment have gone up from 1,601 in 1996 to 4,423 in 2000 in the eastern region. Drug seizures have also increased dramatically throughout the country, from 417 in 1996 to 7,318 in 1999.
"These figures make frightening reading," Deputy Wall says, and he called on parents, community and sporting organisation leaders to make themselves aquainted with all the available courses and literature that is available on the problem.