The drugs court initiative is doomed to fail unless there is a radical change in the Government's spending plans, Father Peter McVerry has warned.
Father McVerry, who has worked with homeless young people for almost 20 years, welcomed the proposal but expressed concern about how it would be funded. "Unfortunately, in Ireland we have a history of introducing good legislation to tackle issues of social disadvantage but the measures have not been adequately resourced and we have little indication that this proposal will be treated any differently."
He urged the Minister for Justice to abandon the "wasteful" spending of millions of pounds on providing more prison places. Instead, money should be spent to provide adequate treatment centres for young people with a drug problem.
"The 1977 Misuse of Drugs Act provided for a custodial treatment centre to which people coming before the courts for drugs-related offences could be sent to as an alternative to prison. No such facility has been provided since that legislation was passed."
The Child Care Act 1991 placed a statutory duty on health boards to provide accommodation for homeless children, yet today there were more young people sleeping on the streets than ever, he added.
The Dublin Citywide Drugs Crisis Campaign also welcomed the proposals. But it expressed concern that people coming before the courts could end up being able to obtain better treatment facilities than non-offenders.