Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will make just a couple of points on my own behalf. Mr. Todd's response to the inquiry about Brexit echoed almost verbatim what I received last week from the executive director of Europol. I am part of the 28-member joint policing scrutiny group across the European Union. I put the question to the new executive director, Ms Catherine De Bolle. I listened carefully to Mr. Todd and thought to myself that his reply was almost exactly the same. Even on the bigger stage, the situation is no different than from what it is on our own small island.

I am a Border Deputy and also a proud Ulster man. Cross-Border crime presents in a number of ways. It does not affect the agricultural community only. I commend the PSNI. In recent days I noted that there had been a significant retrieval of stolen goods north of the Border that the news reports indicated had all been stolen south of the Border. It is not something on which Mr. Todd can comment because it is probably in the judicial realm, but it is indicative of the level of cross-Border co-operation and the good work being done on the ground. In that regard, I should also commend Mr. Todd's colleagues in the Garda.

I noticed in the statistics Mr. Leahy cited that there had been a considerable reduction in the level of rustling. It was once a significant issue, certainly in Cavan-Monaghan. While it did not all make its way north of the Border, there was a strong sense or suspicion and a suggestion in public discourse that it did.

All of these issues are of great concern within the Border region. We can only take solace from the fact that we will see an increase in community policing south of the Border as a result of the significantly improved throughput at the Garda College in Templemore. We will unquestionably receive our share. On the situation north of the Border, is Mr. Todd anticipating an intensified recruitment drive? Is it something that is in the offing?