---

Structures to support Drogheda anti-drugs push

The Minister for Justice, Heather Humphreys, has outlined how the Government will implement a plan to tackle problems caused by drugs and crime in Drogheda.

The minister is to bring the Drogheda Implementation Plan to Cabinet and aims to publish it before the summer break. 

She said that a new Drogheda Implementation Board would co-ordinate the actions outlined in the implementation plan.

Drogheda native Michael Keogh, a former senior official in the Department of Education, is to chair the implementation body.

Minister Humphreys has also welcomed a commitment from Martin O’Brien, the chief executive of the Louth and Meath Education and Training Board (LMETB), that it will host new structures to deliver services in Drogheda.

The plan for Drogheda comes after the publication earlier this year of a report on safety and wellbeing in the town by Vivian Geiran, the former director of the Probation Service.

That report comprehensively looked at the needs of communities in Drogheda, and identified opportunities to connect, support and strengthen services in the area.

Drug-related crime 

It was commissioned in response to concerns about drug-related crime, as well as feuding between organised crime groups, in the Drogheda area. 

“In addition to the local structures hosted by the LMETB and chaired by Michael Keogh, the Department of Justice will provide national oversight to ensure the Drogheda Implementation Plan is delivered upon,” said the minister. 

She said that her department was engaging with the team in LMETB and Michael Keogh to get the new structure up and running.