Bereaved families warned to pay drug debts of their loved ones

DRUGS dealers are turning up at funerals and telling bereaved families “just because someone is dead doesn’t mean the debt is”.

Cllr Fergal Browne made the comments at the September meeting of Carlow County Council as members discussed the corrosive and destructive impact of drugs on society.

“There are dealers turning up to funerals and telling families that just because someone is dead doesn’t mean the debt is,” stated cllr Browne.

The issue of drugs was raised by cllr Charlie Murphy, who stated that drugs are getting more and more prevalent in society, and while some might say ‘what harm’ to taking drugs, the harmful impact was plain to see.

“Some might be privileged enough to have the attitude of ‘what harm’, well I say all sorts of harm. From the people who harvest it, to the people who transport it, the criminals … people’s lives are at stake, people enslaved by these cartels.

“I’m fearful that people are starting to think it’s acceptable, it’s okay, and I’d like to send out the message that it is criminality and victims all the way through and there is absolutely nothing nice about it,” said cllr Murphy.

Chief executive Coilín O’Reilly agreed, adding that the issue of drugs was “massively on the agenda” in his previous position in the local authority in Dublin, where a drugs task force was in place.

“Gangland murders, crime … it all goes back to recreational use … there is no such thing as drug use that doesn’t have a crime association,” he stated.