Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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Question 298: To ask the Minister for Justice and Law Reform if he will give details of his recent meeting with the Stormont Minister for Justice and the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Justice; if he will outline the action he intends to take as a result of this meeting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35029/10]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I met with Northern Ireland Minister of Justice David Ford MLA and Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Justice Kenny MacAskill MSP on 27 September 2010 at Stephenstown Pond in Co. Louth. The genesis of this meeting lies in discussions in bilateral meetings I had previously held with both Ministers. I met with Mr MacAskill in April 2010, to build on contact at official level and with a view to discussing areas of common interest and exploring the exchange of policy ideas and best practice. I have met regularly with Mr Ford since his appointment, both under the aegis of the Intergovernmental Agreement on Cooperation on Criminal Justice Matters and informally, to discuss matters of cooperation and common interest in the justice and policing spheres. Most recently, we opened and addressed the Cross Border Organised Crime Seminar currently being held in Belfast.

Given the similar issues faced by our three jurisdictions and the cultural similarities and historical ties between Scotland and Ireland as a whole, I was convinced we could benefit from meeting together, particularly in the context of ensuring closer cooperation in meeting the challenges posed by organised crime in particular. At the meeting we discussed, inter alia, human trafficking, organised crime, forensic science, DNA legislation and police training.

In relation to human trafficking I outlined the measures being taken in this jurisdiction, including the enactment of the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008 and the provisions contained in the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill. We discussed the possibility of including human trafficking as a discrete area of co-operation under the Intergovernmental Agreement, and committed to building on current links with the Scottish Government in this area. Minister Ford and I discussed plans to develop a Memorandum of Understanding between our Forensic Science Laboratory and Forensic Science Northern Ireland to provide for mutual support in the event of sudden loss or damage to facilities. In the context of the introduction of our own DNA Bill, Cabinet Secretary MacAskill outlined the Scottish regime with regard to the retention of DNA samples, which was recently praised by the European Court of Human Rights.

On police training, we already have excellent cooperation with the PSNI, including under the provisions of the Intergovernmental Agreement on Police Cooperation. Since my meeting with Mr MacAskill earlier this year, invitations have been extended to senior Scottish police officers to participate on the Executive Leadership training course at Templemore, and I expect at least one Scottish participant on the course in the coming months.

Regarding initiatives to reduce offending, I briefed the meeting on the White Paper on Crime process which is currently being undertaken. Cabinet Secretary MacAskill and Minister Ford shared details of recent developments in Scotland and Northern Ireland. There was also a discussion relating to the threat posed by paramilitary groups. Overall, it was very useful to meet with Mr Ford and Mr MacAskill together and it is a relationship that I intend to pursue for the benefit of all the people of Ireland and Scotland.