Drug use among primary and secondary school children escalating in Dublin 15, research finds

Ellen O'Donoghue

Drug use among primary and secondary school children in the Dublin 15 area has escalated, according to research from the Blanchardstown Local Drug and Alcohol Task Force.

Data found commonplace drug dealing and use of cocaine along with benzodiazepines among under-18-year-olds.

Aontú spokesperson and member of the Task Force, Councillor Ellen Troy, told Newstalk that children are in an environment with the use of drugs and alcohol.

"The normalisation is a huge issue, as numbers increase of people abusing alcohol, and children are in that environment with familial use of drugs and alcohol then it just flows, it just follows down so we want to do our best to bring it to the attention of the government so that they can fund these task forces in a more concrete way," Ms Troy said.

Cannabis herb, cannabis oil and nitrous oxide - also known as laughing gas - are being used by children as young as 11 in schools in the Dublin 15 area, the research found.

It also recorded a rise in the use of cocaine and benzodiazepines.

The report said that drugs are widely available in both primary and secondary schools in the Blanchardstown area.

Ms Troy said that she is determined to address the ongoing drug problem.

"As a serving member on the council, I’m on this task force for Blanchardstown, I’m determined with the help of Aontú, my party, to get as much funding as is possible so that we can get in there and do more in prevention, and I’ll do everything possible to draw attention to the fact that the government has reduced its funding for this wonderful task force."