£30m anti-drug fund for youth services announced by Ahern

In a MAJOR U-turn on its anti-drugs policy, the Government is to provide £30 million over three years for a young people's facilities and services fund.

At least £20 million will be targeted at heroin afflicted areas, thus re-instating the youth development fund set up by the Rainbow Coalition last May.

The Taoiseach's announcement, after yesterday's Cabinet meeting, reverses the Budget provision of only £1.25 million.

Mr Ahern, whose constituency is worst-affected by the heroin problem, had been subjected to personal and political criticism from Opposition and local drug task force leaders recently for effectively scrapping the fund.

The Taoiseach said yesterday that the initial £1.25 million provision was now being increased to £7.5 million this year, to enable the fund to begin on a sound basis.

The allocations from the fund will be made by the Cabinet subcommittee on social inclusion, chaired by the Taoiseach. These will take account of a co-ordinated focus on the needs of disadvantaged areas and the work of the local drugs task forces, and will be paid directly to the areas of greatest need through the relevant agencies.

Mr Ahern said the sub-committee had been reviewing the findings of the relevant Ministers on the extent of the needs of young people in the most disadvantaged areas. Initiatives were being taken to address aspects of these needs, including measures to counter early school leaving and to provide more intensive support for children at risk and their families.

He also announced that the Government had appointed Minister of State, Mr Frank Fahey, to be Minister of State at the Departments of Education and Science and Justice, Equality and Law Reform, in addition to Health and Children, to co-ordinate their approach.

Minister of State, Mr Chris Flood, will develop new procedures to ensure a more focused and better co-ordinated response by the statutory authorities to the needs of the most disadvantaged communities. These will be developed in four pilot areas initially - the north-east inner city; the canal communities of St Michael's Estate, Dolphin House, St Teresa's Gardens and Fatima Mansions; Jobstown in Dublin; and Togher in Cork.

Mr Flood has been provided with a budget of £750,000 for this. The pilot projects will be introduced subsequently in other urban areas of greatest need.

Reacting to the announcement, the Minister of State for Housing, Mr Bobby Molloy, said the £30 million for young people at risk was clear evidence of the Government's commitment to tackle disadvantage and exclusion.

The former chairman of the Ministerial Task Force to Reduce the Demand for Drugs, Mr Pat Rabbitte, welcomed the Government's U-turn. He said the Government's previous position was untenable and a reversion to the kind of unthinking neglect that allowed the drugs epidemic to take root in the first place.

Mr Rabbitte said it was still unclear whether the Government intended to seriously pursue the leveraging of equivalent funding from the corporate sector.

The Fine Gael spokesman, Mr Bernard Allen, welcomed the Government's "spectacular U-turn" and was particularly pleased that policies meticulously worked out by the Rainbow Government were finally, being implemented by this Government. "I am very disappointed, however, that it took a massive public outcry and pressure from community groups and Opposition politicians for this Government and this Taoiseach to realise the true nature and horror of the heroin crisis in Ireland," he added.

The fact remained that the Government had intended to cut funding for the youth services fund from £20 million to just over £1 million, Mr Allen said.