Mr. Niall Cody:

The co-operation and collaboration between Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, HMRC, and Revenue in tackling fuel laundering is hugely significant, from policy development to enforcement. There are cross-Border working groups from both agencies. The reality is that HMRC faces challenges that we do not face to the same extent in certain areas. There is no question about that. There is huge support from the Garda Síochána south of the Border and the PSNI north of the Border.

It is important to recognise that some of the people involved in fuel laundering are very serious organised criminals. We have had officials who have been assaulted and whose cars and houses have been petrol bombed over the last number of years. Tackling fuel laundering is a serious business and we are serious about it. While there is certainly huge co-operation on both sides, fuel launderers are not going to just stop because we say we have a new marker.