Cavan Drug Awareness Service to close by end of 2020 if funding issue not resolved

A direct appeal has been made to the government to consider seriously how it is to tackle the issue of drugs addiction.
In a debate last week, Cavan-Monaghan Fianna Fáil deputies Brendan Smith and Niamh Smyth followed in the footsteps of Sinn Féin TD Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin in highlighting the plight of the local Cavan Drug and Alcohol (CDA) service.
Last month, the board of CDA said that the viability of the service it provides is “uncertain” due to the lack of adequate funding. As a result, the organisation’s Board of Directors have taken the “difficult decision” to begin winding down the organisation, with a full closure earmarked for end of 2020.
Established in 2008, funding for the independent charity and company has remained static for the past six years, at €212,000 per annum. Costs faced by the service - rent, insurance and other overheads - have, meanwhile increased.
“We could wait until the wheels fall off, or we could plan it and do it in an orderly fashion and minimise the impact the closure will have on service users,” explained DCA co-ordinator Tim Murphy, when speaking to The Anglo-Celt on the issue.
He added that the root of the problem is connected to the failed implementation of much of what was contained in the National Drugs Strategy 2017-25.
Deputy Smith said, increasingly, people are becoming more aware of “individuals, families and communities” devastated by the scourge of drug abuse. “The Government’s response at present is totally inadequate.”
Having flagged the issue with Minister of State, Catherine Byrne, he eschewed the organisation’s importance in the region. “[CDA] organisation has provided excellent support to many individuals and families over the past years throughout Cavan and Monaghan. Garda management at senior level very much values the support this organisation has given to individuals, families and communities.”
Deputy Smyth was of the same mind. Speaking the day after chairing a meeting of the Bailieborough community alert committee, she noted that the “elephant in the room” was the problem of “blatant drug dealing” happening daily, in broad daylight, in towns right across Cavan, Monaghan and north Meath.
“Parents are very frightened to go to the authorities and to say they saw such and such delivering a package. They are afraid for their own safety and their children’s safety and unwilling to go to the authorities with the information because of that.”
Responding to the local TDs’ concerns, Minister for Justice, Charles Flanagan, said that tackling the sale and supply of drugs is a key priority for the Government and An Garda Síochána.
“The national drugs strategy recognises the importance of supporting the participation of communities in key decision making structures so that their experience and knowledge informs the development of solutions to solve problems related to substance misuse in local areas. In addition, the development of the strategy has involved a wide range of stakeholders and interests working together as working collaboratively, we can deliver on its ambitious goals.”