Mr. Gerard Moran:

The problem is an all-island problem and, therefore, we have tackled the problem in conjunction with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs in order to have a joined-up approach in this regard and hence, both of us went to the market jointly to get a new marker. Obviously, the criminals are no respecters of borders at all. I would only be speculating about where is the source of fuel for laundering and where it is distributed but I will go back to a point I neglected to answer and which the Deputy raised earlier about the number of fuel stations that have been closed down north of the Border. They do not have the same licensing regime we have and I understand therefore that they have been unable to replicate in the North what we have been able to achieve here in terms of tackling the sector.

In respect of supply chain controls, they have a registered dealer and controlled oil system for marked fuel. It is a paper-based system and consequently, they do not really have a supply chain control system. They introduced that system perhaps ten years before we introduced our system and as a result have more limited supply chain controls. We have much more extensive supply chain controls here, as well as a tougher regulatory regime, which has allowed us to tackle traders that were not observing the standards we wished them to observe. I should tell the Deputy that this will be very much a feature of how we proceed with the investigation that is currently under way with regard to all that petrol and the damage to engines that has occurred.