Crack cocaine causes underage sports teams to be pulled

Local sports teams in Ballymun have been forced to pull a number of their under 18s teams due to drugs and drug dealing affecting their numbers.

Setanta GAA have said the problem is so bad they’re struggling to field underage teams.

“Within the age group of 13-18 year olds we’ve had to pull teams because so many have started dealing,” says club secretary Liam Ó Briain.

Minister responsible for the National Drugs Strategy Catherine Byrne admitted that the use of crack cocaine is on the rise, after Setanta sent her an open letter claiming use had increased tenfold in the community. She pointed out a harm reduction campaign targeting cocaine and crack use had been launched in July and offered to meet a delegation from Setanta.

Since then, Setanta has met with the minister who suggested there was a “lack of cohesion” and that they need to liaise with the other sports clubs in the area who are being affected, Ballymun Kickhams and Ballymun United, in order to come up with a proposal on how to tackle the problem.

The three clubs met on Monday evening to discuss the issues and began to come up with a proposal for the minister.

“There was a list of 20 issues we could address, but we’ve narrowed it down to five and we’re formulating a plan of action,” says Liam.

One of these issues is the lack of Gardaí in the drug unit in the area.

“There’s only three guards in the Ballymun drug unit, and they are shared with the airport. So that means if a package comes into the airport that looks like it could be drug related, two guards go up and look at it, and then there’s only one left in Ballymun which is leaving us at a disadvantage.”

Community groups in Ballymun also met with a Fianna Fáil team this month to discuss the surge in crack cocaine use as well as the Garda numbers, the funding of youth services and other issues in the area. Those present included local Cllrs Paul McAuliffe (FF) and Noeleen Reilly (IND), spokesperson on children and youth affairs Anne Rabbitte and spokesperson on health with responsibility for the drugs portfolio Stephen Donnelly.

Crack is smokeable form of cocaine and it causes a short-lived, intense high that is immediately followed by intense depression and a craving for more of the drug. The drug can make people feel paranoid, hostile and anxious.

Long-term effects include severe damage to the heart, liver and kidneys, as well as respiratory problems.