Limerick City at risk of becoming 'drug capital of Ireland', councillor warns

David Raleigh

Limerick City is teetering on becoming the “drug capital of Ireland” due to the availability of “cheap” drugs, particularly “crack” cocaine, which is fuelling homelessness and street prostitution, a Limerick councillor has warned.

Limerick City and County councillor, Sarah Beasley of Aontú, said the “stark reality” of drug addiction and homelessness is “really obvious in Limerick, because we are a small, compact city”.

“There's new faces every day on the streets that I wouldn't be familiar with. When I stop and ask them, they are coming to Limerick because of the drugs that are produced here, which, you know, we're going to become the drug the drug capital of Ireland,” she said.

Cllr Beasley, who has operated a mobile soup run for vulnerable people in Limerick city centre, said people are being drawn to Limerick City due to the “cheapness and availability” of drugs and that the city’s homeless numbers are rising.

Cllr Beasley said young children using electric scooters are being used by drug gangs to ferry drugs around the city, allowing the fast movement and supply of drugs to dealers.

“When your eyes are open and you're looking around, I can see young lads on scooters actually delivering the drugs into a town, they’re 11 and 12 years of age," she said.

"They're being dragged in, the promise of a good life might be a Rolex watch, a Canada Goose jacket, but my God, once they're in that system, there isn't any way to get out.”

'Limerick has become a scary place'

Cllr Beasley said the drugs being distributed in Limerick are “cheaper” and “stronger” than most other parts of the country, and she warned: “Limerick City, day or night has become quite a scary place”.

“We love the city, and so many times, Limerick has had to stand up for itself when we get a negative (publicity) and this is not what we want,” Cllr Beasley told the 'Limerick Today' current affairs programme on local radio station Live 95.

“We have the Ryder Cup in two years time, and, I don't want Americans or Europeans coming into the city, and that's the impression that they walk away from Limerick.”

Beasley said the vulnerable people are somebody's children, and warned that HIV is on the rise again.

“These (vulnerable) people are somebody's children, I always say. And the prostitution in Limerick from these people in addiction is huge, HIV is on the rise again — Can you imagine?

"And that's because they're sharing needle; they’re selling their bodies for sex, and it doesn't matter what their sexuality is, they'll go with anybody to get a bag of crack (cocaine), that costs €20 euros, just €20.”

Last month two female street sex workers were falsely imprisoned and assaulted by a male on the outskirts of the city centre and luckily managed to escape and raise the alarm.

The body of a man suspected of carrying out the attack on the two women was later discovered in what gardaí believe was a suicide.

Cllr Beasley, who co-chairs a Council drug task-force with Limerick Mayor John Moran admitted that the drug and homeless situation locally “is grim” and they are working on helping to provide ways of tackling the crisis.

Cllr Beasley said she was assisting in the making of a documentary to raise awareness of the homeless issue.