More than 36,000 arrests for drug offences in Cork in last decade

Tens of thousands of people have been arrested for drug offences in Cork over the past decade, with a Cork public representative calling for more Gardaí and a stronger naval service to tackle this.

Figures released to Aontú by the Minister for Justice show that 36,133 people have been arrested throughout the county for drug offences with the number of arrests peaking in 2021 and 2022 when there were 4,046 and 4,356 respectively.

Figures from 2014 to 2024 so far show that there were 21,132 drug arrests in Cork City over the last ten and a half years, and 9,378 in North Cork and 5,623 in West Cork during the same time period.

There have been 1,152 arrests in Cork City, 526 in North Cork and 239 in West Cork up to the 11 July this year, suggesting the total figure for Cork could be as high as 4,000 again this year.

'SCOURGE'

Cork Aontú Representative Becky Kealy says the figures should be a wakeup call to the Government to “get a handle on the scourge of drugs in towns and villages throughout the county for once and for all”.

She said, “There is hardly a village in Cork that is untouched by drugs. The ease with which people of all ages and of all backgrounds can access them is frightening and the knock-on ramifications are huge.

“Crime, serious addiction, family breakdown, desolation and desperation are their hallmarks, and they leave indelible marks on their users.” Ms Kealy added, “Our naval fleet has been decimated by this and successive Governments,” saying Ireland is “seen as a soft touch by drug lords.

She asked, “Why are so many Naval boats in Ireland tied up - we spent millions buying two more from New Zealand in the past couple of years, just to bring them in and tie them up to our ports and pier walls as we cannot find the resources to employ enough Naval staff to put them to sea.

“This is coupled with falling Garda numbers; for every year that Fine Gael has been in government the number of Gardaí has fallen, morale is at an all-time low and the number of resignations has skyrocketed. It’s a perfect storm,” Ms Kealy added.

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee told Mr Toibin, “The Government is investing record amounts into An Garda Síochána to target those involved in the sale and supply of illegal drugs through Operation Tara.

“Operation Tara has a strong focus on tackling street-level dealing across the country, also seeks to disrupt and dismantle the drug trafficking networks that impact on our communities and prosecute those involved at every level.” 

She assured him that the Government is committed to limiting access to illegal drugs to the greatest extent possible and are committed to taking a number of direct actions to tackle this, including by increasing the maximum sentence for conspiracy to murder from 10 years to life in prison to tackle those who direct gangland and drug related crime.

They are also introducing new legislation which will criminalise the grooming of children into a life of crime, rolling out a support programme to break the link between the gangs and the children they try to recruit and strengthening CAB’s ability to target the proceeds of crime and speed up the process to dispose of the asset for the benefit of the State.