The Labour Party has attacked the Government's response to the growth in cocaine use in Ireland as "pathetic".
Labour justice spokesman Joe Costello said today cocaine use has soared by 800 per cent since 2002. However, the Garda National Drugs Unit has increased its staff by just one over the same period.
"In 2002 when Michael McDowell became Minister there were 51 gardaí in the unit," he said. "This year there are 52, which means that although there has been a massive increase in drugs imports including cocaine, heroin and cannabis, there has been only a single solitary additional garda assigned to deal with it.
"It beggars belief that although the country has been flooded with drugs, the resources to deal with them at national level have not been forthcoming," he said.
Minister of State with responsibility for the National Drugs Strategy Noel Ahern will today announce an additional €1.77 million in funding for drugs prevention under the Young People's Facilities and Services Fund (YPFSF).
The YPFSF, set up by the Government in 1998, targets young people most at risk from substance misuse in disadvantaged areas. It has been allocated at total of €149.65 million since 2000 under the National Development Plan (NDP) 2000-2006.
It operates in nine areas of Dublin, as well as Carlow, Cork, Waterford, Limerick and Galway.