Mr. Noel Waters:

Ultimately that is a matter for the Garda and the Revenue Commissioners in terms of law enforcement around that. The Deputy mentioned the Border area but there are a number of bodies that work jointly to counteract tobacco smuggling which represents a serious loss to the Exchequer every year as well as diesel laundering and fuel smuggling. These bodies work together to the greatest extent possible. The Deputy may be aware that, in the context of the talks that are under way at the moment, there may be further developments around that in terms of ensuring that if there are any gaps there that need to be addressed they will be followed through. Ultimately, it is a matter for the Garda and the Revenue Commissioners and, indeed, the Department of Social Protection, which has been a feature of our system in recent years. For example, there are 20 gardaí assigned to the Department of Social Protection and the question of a continuation is being considered at the moment. They are there for the purposes of ensuring that fraud and issues of that nature are dealt with, that the system is joined up and that people who need to have that information when chasing people down do have it. We know about the number of gardaí.

We would all like to have significantly more gardaí visible in our own communities. At the same time, we would strongly support the Commissioner in that, according to the wider interests of the public, gardaí would be assigned to other offices to do work of that nature. It is a good use of resources in the overall sense, for the entire community and for the Exchequer.