Ireland combats crack, cocaine

DW (English)

Cocaine and crack cocaine are spreading across Ireland — and not just in the capital Dublin, but in more rural areas as well. How did this happen, and what is being done to combat it?

Transcript

00:00We're on O'Connell Bridge, right in the middle of Dublin, where we witness what appears

00:11to be a drug deal.

00:16Drugs have become more prevalent in Ireland.

00:21According to a UN report, the country ranks fourth in the world for cocaine use per capita.

00:28Everybody's doing it, like, don't just think it's the nightlife doing it.

00:34The way cocaine is nowadays, it's just like having a Sunday dinner.

00:38Who is nanny?

00:40You don't know.

00:42We want to find out how did Ireland end up here, and what's being done to change things.

00:58We're in Darnedale, one of the most disadvantaged communities in Dublin.

01:09This district has a reputation for drugs, violence and crime.

01:14We've been advised not to walk through the area alone, so as not to put our personal

01:18safety at risk.

01:21Here it's common to find families living next to drug dealers and addicts.

01:26Crack houses are sometimes raided by the police.

01:31Locals tell us people come from all over to buy drugs here.

01:38Cars pull into the cul-de-sac for a few minutes, then drive away.

01:54Daniel Jones and his colleague are social workers from the organisation The Dales.

01:59They make several rounds here every day.

02:03We have carried people's coffins who have died, who have never made it.

02:08It's really hard, but there's no such thing as a hopeless addict.

02:11There's hope for them all.

02:15So what we do, really, every morning, we come out in the morning when it's really busy,

02:21and there'll be a lot of people over in the clinic, going to the clinic for their methadone,

02:24and there'll be a lot of people over there looking to scar drugs and so on.

02:27So we just make ourselves, we're supposed to be present on the street and let people

02:31see us.

02:32Corley, watch the crack.

02:33You don't have to be on this camera now if you don't want to.

02:36Don't put me on no bleeding camera, I'm not bad enough, I'm not as hideous as it is.

02:43Both social workers do community outreach work, helping where they can.

02:48Their red jackets make them stand out, and they're often the first point of contact for

02:52anyone looking for a way out of addiction.

02:55Well, it's hard in the area because of the drugs situation, you know what I mean?

03:01It's hard to try and get your life together, but I'm doing well at the moment, you know?

03:06I'm cleaning myself at the moment, I was linked in with the Dales in Darndale.

03:10Well, it's just the drug situation that's bad, you know, at the moment.

03:14I suppose it's like that everywhere, you know?

03:17Jones knows the scene well.

03:19He also struggled with drug addiction for years.

03:22In Darndale, crack is one of the biggest issues.

03:28It's definitely harder when it's on your doorstep, when you're walking out your door, and you're

03:33not trying your best, and you're trying to get clean, you're trying to stay clean, you're

03:37trying to stay focused, and you walk out and it's just in your face 24-7.

03:43It's more of a challenge.

03:47Darndale has been struggling with poverty, crime and drug problems for generations.

03:53How can the cycle be broken?

03:58This community training centre is located in the heart of Darndale, where young people

04:03from the area are given a second chance to get an education.

04:07My name is Trina O'Connor.

04:08I work with young people between the age of 16 and 21.

04:11I'm also a criminologist.

04:15This is the receptionist's desk, and you can see we have manicures going on, we have blow-drying

04:21going on, we have some rollers being set.

04:24Here students are learning about beauty and hairdressing.

04:28Some have traumatic pasts caused by growing up in an area where crime and drugs are a

04:33part of their everyday lives, and even their families.

04:37The centre allows young people to finish their education while gaining real-world experience.

04:42In return, they receive a salary.

04:46Hairdressing training exams are being held today.

04:49A small step towards a brighter future.

04:53Clients from the local community are here to help them practice.

04:56I'm a doctor, I worked here years ago.

05:01Really?

05:02Yeah.

05:03I've done great.

05:04And what do you do now?

05:05I'm a beautician now.

05:06It's time to use the train, isn't it?

05:07Well, you know, the thing about life is, finding what you like doing and then getting

05:12somebody to pay you to do it.

05:14Like, that's the key to it, isn't it, you know?

05:18Creating opportunities for young people who might not have had them otherwise.

05:22Trina O'Connor is convinced the work she's doing here is key to breaking the cycle of

05:26violence and poverty in Darndale, and others agree with her.

05:30It's brilliant, it's great for the community and it's great for the kids, you know.

05:35It keeps you away from just doing all the bad things that people around here do, you

05:40know.

05:41I've realised that, like, I do like doing beauty and hair, and I'm going to continue

05:45that on in college for another year.

05:49And there's more on offer than beauty and hairdressing.

05:53In this course, young people learn woodworking.

05:57A few lads have gone on to apprenticeships as plumbers and carpenters, so it gives them

06:02a bit of self-belief that they can go and do it, and that's really what my job is, I

06:07think.

06:08This building site will soon be a new classroom.

06:11Students are constructing a barbershop here under supervision, and the waiting list for

06:14the new barbering course is already full.

06:18I have not met one young person that is beyond help.

06:24Therefore, when they have this education, it gives them an opportunity to have choices

06:30in life.

06:31Oh, something smells lovely, what's that?

06:36Trina O'Connor is convinced that education is key to creating sustainable change in Darndale.

06:42For many students, the Discovery Training Centre offers more than just a second shot

06:46at education.

06:47It's also a safe space.

06:50I've seen, you know, drug addiction, violence, I've seen people running around with knives.

06:57I myself have had several encounters with guns being pulled, with knives being pulled.

07:02So the opportunity to come here and to learn something and to be took out of that hostile

07:07environment is a great opportunity because it keeps young people off the streets, it

07:12keeps them out of crime.

07:17Many people in Ireland are calling it a drug epidemic.

07:21Since 2017, the number of cocaine users in Ireland has doubled.

07:26For crack cocaine, it's increased six-fold.

07:35While both drugs are made from the same base substance, crack is mostly consumed by people

07:41living in precarious conditions.

07:43Cocaine, considered more of a party drug, is popular among Ireland's affluent middle

07:48and upper classes.

07:49There are few countries where cocaine use is as high as in Ireland.

07:53According to the UN, Ireland ranks fourth behind Australia, the Netherlands and Spain.

07:59Author and crime journalist Nicola Talent has been observing a surge in drug use across

08:03Ireland for years.

08:05Who isn't consuming cocaine is more the question really because it seems to have been a drug

08:12that has traversed all age groups.

08:14It's an acceptable recreational product.

08:17But why Ireland?

08:20According to Talent, there are a few factors.

08:22On one hand, many people have money to spend.

08:24On the other hand, deeply rooted societal traumas and alcoholism also play a role.

08:31The other reason is I think by nature the Irish like to party.

08:35We like to have fun.

08:36We like to go out.

08:37We like to stay up talking and of course cocaine can help people continue the party longer

08:43so it's become very popular.

08:45Especially in nightlife where we're told the drug can be found everywhere.

08:49I wouldn't say that Dublin has a cocaine problem, I'd say it's everywhere in Ireland.

08:57I used to work in a restaurant so I used to find a lot of the bags in the toilets and

09:02all that.

09:03It's definitely an issue, yeah.

09:05Yeah the farmers take cocaine a lot to be fair.

09:08I think it's more so underground.

09:10In small towns there's a lot more cocaine abuse.

09:14Everybody's doing it.

09:15I just think it's the nightlife doing it, it could be your best friend, it could be

09:18someone that you know very well doing it.

09:21The way cocaine is nowadays it's just like having a Sunday dinner.

09:25Who isn't on it?

09:26You don't know.

09:27But where are the drugs coming from?

09:43If you see that your borders aren't being protected then people will take advantage

09:49of that.

09:50We are a sovereign state, we have a security issue and we need to protect that.

09:55Patrick Murphy is a fishing representative in the port town of Castletown Bear.

10:00Fishing boats from all over Europe unload their cargo here.

10:04I've never seen an operation to check is there drugs coming into the harbour.

10:08We had more stringent controls for Covid than we do for narcotics.

10:13Murphy says Ireland's fishing industry is in a desperate situation.

10:17Over the course of a single year 20% of their boats were pushed out of the market.

10:22He says the fishing industry's economic crisis also poses a safety risk.

10:27Last year suspected drug smugglers legally purchased a boat in this harbour.

10:31It's linked to one of the biggest drug busts in Irish history.

10:35All I know is that there's more drugs now in Europe and everywhere else than there ever

10:38was before.

10:39It has to be coming in some way and I believe that we have a weakness in our coastline.

10:48The Irish military recently procured two new Airbus C295 maritime surveillance aircrafts.

10:55These airplanes carry out long range patrols at sea.

10:59Anti-drug operations are part of their mission profile.

11:05According to media reports only one of eight Irish Navy ships was operational at the beginning

11:10of the year.

11:12One ship responsible for patrolling nearly 1 million square kilometres of sea and 3,000

11:18kilometres of coastline.

11:23When asked about how many ships are currently operational the Irish military refused to

11:28comment citing security concerns.

11:36Social worker Daniel Jones started using hard drugs at the age of 15.

11:41For over 20 years he was trapped in a vicious cycle of drug use and crime heading in and

11:46out of prison.

11:51Today he wants to show people living with addiction that anyone can find a way out.

11:57It's trying to learn how to change the type in your mind and trying to put positive thoughts

12:04into your head instead of the negative thoughts and if you can't do that look for support

12:08and being able to look on the brighter side I think.

12:13Daniel has put up these posters everywhere to bring a bit of positivity and colour to

12:18Darndale.

12:19He says sometimes the only thing people need is a bit of hope.

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