Ms Nóirín O'Sullivan:

I thank the Deputy for acknowledging the excellent levels of co-operation. We have a unique and very effective working relationship with the Police Service of Northern Ireland and there are already two task forces in place. They are made up of more than representatives of An Garda Síochána and the PSNI; the joint task force on fuel smuggling and the joint task force on tobacco smuggling are multi-agency. As I mentioned in my opening address, there is no doubt that the complexities of the situation along the Border require a multi-agency and a multi-faceted response. On how we can build on the level of co-operation, the conference the Deputy mentioned is a multi-agency cross-Border conference that we hold every year. Its purpose is to look at new ways of working together. We are always looking for new ways to build on the excellent levels of co-operation. I am aware that there are talks ongoing and we are very willing to engage with whatever will be the product of these discussions.