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	Gardai are targeting drug dealing near secondary schools in a clampdown on the sale of illicit substances to teenagers at lunch breaks.</p>
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	In what has been described as a &quot;worrying&quot; development, dealers are approaching teen-agers, who are pooling their resources to buy cannabis and other substances near the school grounds during recreational periods.</p>
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	In the past three weeks in Kerry alone, two such operations have been foiled.</p>
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	Gardai say most of the students involved in buying the drugs were from what would be regarded as good homes.</p>
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	Last week, in Causeway in north Kerry, a 16-year-old and a 21-year-old were questioned following a raid by gardai.</p>
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	Sgt Declan Liddane, head of the divisional drugs unit, told the Irish Independent: &quot;There appears to be issues where older students, who have left various colleges or have been expelled, are targeting kids at lunch hour and we&#39;ve decided that we&#39;re going to take them on.</p>
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	&quot;We&#39;ve done this at two schools already in Kerry but it&#39;s not unique to these two schools,&quot; Sgt Liddane said.</p>
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	According to gardai, cannabis and other substances are available. In one instance, a group of four or five teenagers had pooled their resources to buy a &euro;50 bag of cannabis. However, they also believe some teenagers are becoming involved in dealing themselves.</p>
<p>
	SUPERVISION</p>
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	&quot;They might get their hands on &euro;50 worth but sell it out dearer and have their own supply for the week for nothing so they&#39;re getting into dealing themselves without even realising it,&quot; Sgt Liddane added.</p>
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	General secretary of the TUI John McGowan said while it was a cause of dismay, it stood to reason that there would be an attempt by dealers to entice or force students to buy drugs.</p>
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	&quot;Through supervision arrangements, teachers do their best to ensure this problem does not penetrate the school grounds but what happens outside the school, in the community, is a matter the school cannot control except to advise the students and assist them... and involve the gardai as appropriate,&quot; Mr McGowan said.</p>
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	Stg Liddane said: &quot;It&#39;s the significance of the problem where a school should be a place exclusively for learning.</p>
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	&quot;The students we spoke to who were in bother, their parents would be regarded as highly responsible and very involved.&quot;</p>
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	Teachers&#39; unions say the development is worrying and schools would have to work closely with the gardai, but added that parents also needed to be involved.</p>
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	A spokesperson for the ASTI said all schools were required to have policies on these issues and to educate their students about the misuse of drugs.</p>
<p>
	http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/dealers-target-schools-with-drug-sales-at-lunch-breaks-30112314.html</p>
