Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and his officials for attending. The thing that comes to my mind the whole time is the Good Friday Agreement. Since it came into operation, the peace this island has enjoyed has been unprecedented. Coming from the Border town of Dundalk, I, more than most, know the problems people had during the Troubles and I think it fantastic that this has happened.

The Chief Constable of the PSNI, George Hamilton, realises that there will be repercussions regardless of whether there is a Brexit deal and he has asked the UK Government for an additional 400 police officers to help man the Border. As the Minister knows, we are talking about a distance of some 310 miles and, at present, Northern Ireland has roughly 6,700 police officers and 79 police stations. What are the Minister's plans for 29 March? The PSNI is looking for extra police officers. The Minister cannot just click his fingers and get an extra 400 or 500 gardaí and deploy them to the Border. What are his plans for 29 March in the context of covering the Border area?