"PUSHERS, pushers, pushers, out, out, out!"
About 500 people marched through the housing estates of north Clondalkin in Dublin last night to protest against drug dealing in the area.
Marchers included local residents and anti drugs campaigners from Tallaght and the south inner city.
The march through Neilstown, Ronanstown and adjacent areas took almost two hours and was led by children.
"We know there's 42 dealers in this area, and there's six main dealers," said Mr John McCann, one of the organisers. He said the area's 1,700 homes included about 400 young people aged 14 to 20 who have acknowledged they are addicts.
The community drug project - the Clondalkin Addiction Support Group - has received £40,000 in funding from the Eastern Health Board. Mr McCann said more money was needed, as £25,000 of that sum went to pay the salary of the project manager. The scheme had 22 addicts on a detoxification programme and a further 147 on its waiting list.
A spokesperson for the Eastern Health Board said its drug facilities for the area also included the Aisling clinic in Ballyfermot, which offers methadone, counselling and other programmes and has 150 clients. There were 40 people on its waiting list and an interim programme was being put in place to clear the list, she said.