Shane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There is a portion dealing with fuel laundering, which is a very big issue in the north east and my neighbouring county of Louth. The Comptroller and Auditor General report and the Revenue Commissioners have indicated there were clean-up costs of nearly €7 million. I know the strain this puts on the State and local authorities. At one stage, there were 539 cases in Louth and 459 cases in Monaghan. The Revenue Commissioners have spoken of efforts to crack down on fuel laundering and they have clearly been successful, as in Louth the case numbers have dropped from 239 to 69 and from 186 to 11 in Monaghan.

In liaising with agencies such as the Garda, are the Revenue Commissioners getting to the point of negating the problem? Is there a criminal aspect lying in the long grass? I am sure there is regular contact between the Revenue Commissioners and the Garda because it is a cross-agency issue, both in terms of the loss of funds to the Exchequer and the damage being done to small businesses, people's automobiles and, ultimately, the environment. I know in very scenic parts of County Louth and County Monaghan the criminal underworld involved with this activity has no regard for the communities they devastate from an environmental perspective. Will the witness address this and how the Revenue Commissioners liaise with the Garda? Is there a tangible analysis done so there can be a real crackdown on the criminal element?