Cuts to funding of Finglas Addiction Support Team Service

This cut to funding of a service for addicted people struggling with their problem is very ill-advised. This is because Finglas is an area with a huge drug problem made worse by local drug pushers and gangs. The cost of police operations in the area is considerable and services that wean people away from street drugs must and should be prioritised. The savings from this cut will likely be negated by the subsequent increased cost of courts and prisons. It is easy for opposition politicians to spend money but this is the type of cut which makes class politics real. Would the banking classes be cut like this? Not if the financing of NAMA is taken as a yardstick. Of course bankers don’t go to jail. I reproduce the reality for local services in the letter from Barbara Condon.

Letter to Finglas/Cabra Local Drug Task Force from Barbara Condon, FAST Manager