He said: “What they do is tantamount to child abuse, pushing heroin and other deadly drugs on youngsters and shutting them off from a normal happy childhood.”

He said the combination of drug addiction and drug debts is throwing many families in Limerick into misery and poverty.

Fr Young who is chaplain at the Brothers of Charity in Bawnmore said: “Unfortunately I now predict we are going to lose so many kids in the months ahead to suicide due to their addiction to heroin and another deadly drug which is now emerging, acid.”

Fr Young said in the weeks leading up to Christmas he had been approached by as many as 30 parents who had been forced into debt to pay off drug debts built up by their sons and daughters.

Fr Young said: “They did not come to me looking for money. Many still think I am still working in Southill. All I could give them was support and hope. They just wanted somebody they could trust to talk to. Debts end up considerably more than the original amount and families are being forced to borrow money from the credit union and money lenders to try and free themselves from these drug dealers. It was like seeing a new poverty emerge before my eyes.”

Fr Young said drugs are being openly dealt on city centre streets.

He said: “We as a community must now stand up to these drug dealers and anybody who sees a drugs deal going down should immediately contact the garda confidential phone number. Limerick should become a catalyst for the rest of the country in the fight against drugs. Children are at great risk and a stand must be taken by all of us.”

Meanwhile Labour city council member, Cllr Joe Leddin said yesterday that families who bought out their own houses in council estates are being terrorised into selling up for knock down prices by marauding gangs.

Mr Leddin said: “Long established, proud communities and lifelong neighbours are being torn apart because of the actions of these criminals and it is extremely hard to offer comfort or hope to elderly and vulnerable people when they tell me that in their opinion society and law and order have totally broken down. I think that we should make a concerted effort to deal with this criminality before the city regeneration scheme goes any further.”