Drug dealers and users are now returning to suburbs around Dublin since the city has been left near deserted due to the coronavirus lockdown.
Restrictions on movement have seen a dramatic increase in the numbers of people in the capital's city centre.
And Sinn Fein TD Dessie Ellis believes there's a resurgence in drug dealing and use in parts of Dublin since the Government's measures were put in place last month.
He told the Irish Mirror: "What you're seeing is, as a result of the lockdown, places in the city such as Temple Bar are empty so there's no one to sell drugs to.
"And as well as that, drugs services in the town may not be in use at the moment and other accommodation centres that would be open normally, aren't.
"So we're seeing many drug users return home to places outside the city centre. There's a combination of things going on."
Garda sources have reportedly told the Irish Times that those involved in drugs could no longer “blend into the background” as a result of the ongoing pandemic.
Mr Ellis told the newspaper: "From talking to the drugs’ squad there has been a huge influx of people coming in and dealing in suburbs where they wouldn’t have been seen for many years.
“Because town is deserted, there aren’t people in town for them to sell to, and anyone who is in town is more likely to get stopped by the gardaí."
He added that dealing was “becoming more concentrated in working class areas like Finglas and Ballymun, and as the weeks go on it is becoming more worrying".
