Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I cannot tell the Deputy. I do not know the depths of the intelligence system of any particular country or what they are up to. However, this is what routinely happens. If, for example, we take the maritime traffic through our seas or exclusive economic zone, we might spot stuff and alert the French or say it to the British or somebody else. This is a routine that goes on. Countries alert each other to a particular vessel or trawler that is in a particular location for maybe good, benign or innocent reasons or not so innocent reasons. There is that kind of collective effort where people will alert people. Likewise, in the context of drugs and so on, there is obviously Interpol and forces that combine. I was in Colombia recently. We have a superintendent in Colombia attached to our embassy who works with the Colombian authorities. Collectively, therefore, countries work on drug trafficking and narcotics and much of it is intelligence led and intelligence driven.

That said, there is a vulnerability here. We do not have a comprehensive primary radar system. We need to put one in place. The commission has identified it. We are about that work. I take the Deputy's point, but timelines are as they are. It seems to me that this is the first time we have ever seriously gone about doing this. The Estimates contain significant allocations in terms of additional personnel within the Department across a number of fronts from the Commission on the Defence Forces and also to embed some key civilian posts within the Defence Forces themselves in terms of human resource and recruitment and so forth.