Anti-drugs activists in Blanchardstown in west Dublin have called for the establishment of a community policing forum which would involve the Garda, residents and council officials.
Such forums are already in operation in Dublin's north inner city and Rialto - districts which have been affected by heroin addiction in recent years.
At a weekend conference organised by Blanchardstown Against Drugs, representatives from a number of anti-drugs campaigners spoke of the "serious inadequacy" of Garda resources to combat drug dealing and called for a joint approach to policing the "very serious drug problem" in Blanchardstown. "Up until recently, when there was a shooting, there were four members of the Gardai to cover Blanchardstown, Cabra and Finglas, which have a population of over 100,000 people. That says to me there is a serious inadequacy in the policing situation," said the chairman of Blanchardstown Against Drugs, Mr Paul Donnelly.
"One of the most frustrating things was that in the run-up to Christmas we had up to 12 gardai on traffic duty around the shopping centre and roundabouts. "We have drug pushers openly dealing in the street and everybody in the community knows their name, but if we don't have the gardai on the ground to deal with this, how can we gather the evidence?"
Research is being conducted to find out the extent of heroin abuse in the greater Blanchardstown area, but there are believed to be between 200 and 300 addicts, some as young as 16. Some "chase the dragon" - a slang term for smoking heroin - while many are injecting the drug.
Of equal concern to anti-drug activists are reports of youngsters aged 12 and upwards who are smoking hash, according to Mr Donnelly.
"It is extremely worrying because it sucks them into other drug cultures. I know there is a debate about whether hash is a gateway to other drugs. I think it draws them into contact with drug dealers who are totally unscrupulous and who will sell any drug for any profit," he said.
Supt Malachy Mulligan told the conference that 100 gardai were based in the Blanchardstown area - part of K District. All gardai were now acutely aware of drugs issues.
Murders in the Blanchardstown area in the past year resulted in a heavy drain on resources, said Supt Mulligan. However, he stressed the Garda needed "good information" from the public in order to act against dealers.