Ireland struggles with growing cocaine problem

DW (English)

International drug smugglers are using Ireland as a backdoor into Europe more and more often. Police, coastguards, marines and customs have so far been unable to secure the fjords and bays, which are difficult to control.

Transcript

00:00We're on O'Connell Bridge, right in the middle of Dublin city centre, and witness

00:07what appears to be a drug deal.

00:11Drug use has become more prevalent in Ireland.

00:14According to a UN report, Ireland ranks fourth globally in cocaine use per capita.

00:19Some people worry the country is facing a drug epidemic.

00:23Cocaine has become popular with Ireland's affluent middle class and is often found wherever

00:28people drink alcohol.

00:31Everybody's doing it, like don't just think it's the nightlife doing it.

00:34The way cocaine is nowadays is just like having a Sunday dinner.

00:38Who isn't on it?

00:39You don't know.

00:40I wouldn't say that Dublin has a cocaine problem, I'd say it's everywhere in Ireland.

00:45Yeah, the farmers take cocaine a lot to be fair.

00:48I think it's more so underground.

00:50In small towns there's a lot more cocaine abuse.

00:55Darnedale, one of the most disadvantaged communities in all of Dublin.

01:01Here you can find normal families living next to drug dealers and addicts.

01:05Crack houses are sometimes raided by the police.

01:09Locals tell us people come from all over to buy drugs here.

01:17Daniel Jones and his colleague are social workers for an organisation called The Dales.

01:22They do community outreach, helping where they can.

01:26Jones knows the scene well.

01:28He had problems with drugs himself for years.

01:30Don't put me on no bleeding camera, I'm not bad enough.

01:34It's definitely harder when it's on your doorstep, when you're walking out your door and you're

01:39trying your best and you're trying to get clean, you're trying to stay clean, you're

01:43trying to stay focused and you walk out and it's just in your face 24-7.

01:48With their red jackets, the social workers stand out.

01:51They're often the first point of contact for anyone looking for a way out of addiction.

01:55It's hard to turn against you, you have to get up, I'm doing well at the moment, I'm

02:01cleaning myself at the moment.

02:03Crack is one of the biggest problems in Darnedale.

02:06Made from a mixture of baking powder and cocaine, it's a highly addictive drug.

02:15Criminologist Trina O'Connor runs a community training centre that provides second chance

02:20education for young people from around the area.

02:23This is a section of desks and you can see we have manicures going on, we have blow drying

02:29going on, we have some rollers being set.

02:32The centre allows young people to finish their leaving certs and learn about working life.

02:37They receive a salary in return.

02:41And I suppose therefore when they have this education, it gives them an opportunity to

02:46have choices in life.

02:48In the centre's canteen, students learn how to run an industrial kitchen.

02:53For some it's a way out of a cycle of violence and crime.

02:57I myself have had several encounters with guns being pulled, with knives being pulled.

03:04So the opportunity to come here and to learn something and to be took out of that hostile

03:09environment is a great opportunity because it keeps young people off the streets, it

03:13keeps them out of crime.

03:15Barndale has been struggling with poverty, crime and drug addiction for generations.

03:21This is the clinic here to the left, as you see it's really isolated.

03:29Daniel and his colleague come to this methadone clinic regularly.

03:34This woman is one of their clients.

03:38Trust is one of their most important commodities, the only way they can gain access to the people

03:43they want to help.

03:44I will get fed up doing it because I'm just fed up now, really, but I'm on the road to

03:49recovery, am I guys?

03:52The number of heroin addicts in treatment has been declining in Ireland, but the number

03:56of crack cocaine patients has increased six-fold since 2017.

04:02Where do the drugs come from?

04:04Along Ireland's south-western coast, we meet fisherman representative Patrick Murphy in

04:09the port town of Castletown Bear.

04:12Fishing boats from all over Europe unload their cargo here.

04:16He believes Ireland has a security problem.

04:20I've never seen an operation to check if there are drugs coming into the harbour.

04:24We had more stringent controls for Covid than we do for narcotics.

04:29Murphy says Ireland's fishing industry is in a desperate situation.

04:33Over the course of a single year, 20% of their boats were pushed out of the market.

04:37He says the fishing industry's economic crisis also poses a safety risk.

04:42Last year, suspected drug smugglers legally bought a boat in this harbour.

04:46It's linked to one of the biggest drug busts in Irish history.

04:50All I know is that there's more drugs now in Europe and everywhere else than there ever

04:54was before.

04:55It has to be coming in some way, and I believe that we have a weakness in our coastline.

05:03The Irish military recently procured two new Airbus C295 maritime surveillance aircraft.

05:09These airplanes carry out long-range patrols at sea.

05:13Anti-drug operations are one part of their mission profile.

05:17Still critics doubt that Ireland can effectively protect its coastline.

05:22According to media reports, only one of eight Irish Navy ships was operational at the beginning

05:27of the year.

05:29One ship responsible for almost 1 million square kilometres of sea and 3,000 kilometres

05:34of coastline.

05:36When asked about how many ships are currently operational, the Irish military refused to

05:41comment, citing security concerns.

05:48Daniel started using hard drugs at the age of 15.

05:52For 20 years, he was trapped in a vicious cycle of drug use, crime, and in and out of

05:58prison.

05:59Today, he says he's living proof that anyone can find a way out of addiction.

06:03It's trying to learn how to change the type in your mind, and trying to put positive thoughts

06:10into your head instead of the negative thoughts, and if you can't do that, look for support

06:14and being able to look on the brighter side, I think.

06:19Daniel Jones has put up these posters everywhere to bring a bit of positivity and colour to

06:24Darndale.

06:26He says sometimes the only thing people need is a bit of hope.

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