Shocking shootings cannot be just another statistic
Labour justice spokesperson Aodhán Ó Ríordáin has today (Tuesday 6th December) expressed his horror at the shootings in Dublin last night and reiterated his calls for a cast iron date for a Citizens Assembly on Drugs to be held.
Deputy Ó Ríordáin said:
“This is yet another shocking shooting on the streets of our capital yet the reality is that our political system is not going to be rocked by this. We should not allow these crimes to end up being yet another shameful statistic. That fact they are more than likely to be is utterly depressing and a cause of great distress to the wider community.
“It only feeds into a real feeling of Government complacency on crime and the causes of crimes. There is no real shock about shootings anymore and that is not normal. Children are going to wake up in that area and go to school, walking past a crime scene where somebody has been shot dead. That’s not normal. It can’t be normal in anybody’s life, or anybody’s area that somebody gets shot that this is absolutely linked to the drug trade.
“We need to see some urgency from Government on setting a cast iron date for the Citizens Assembly on Drugs? They can’t keep burying their heads in the sand in the hope this problem goes away. It won’t.”