Mr. Tony Hickey:

First, on the issue of tax, for the past 14 years, when there were seizures of illegal cigarettes or at laundering plants, the Criminal Assets Bureau was always involved at an early stage. Whatever information is collected is fed into the CAB which looks at the financial side. Its business is to follow the money trail. I assure the committee that that has not stopped.

On the connection between the subversives and the dynamics of the problem, in the 1970s subversive organisations financed themselves through bank robberies. There was a channel running from Noraid in the United States, which meant money was money coming in from abroad.

Things change. For some time, individuals in the Border region have been driving this whole business, and they need money. The lines of demarcation have become blurred. It is a small country. Criminals are criminals and criminal activity is criminal activity. The gangs are very fluid. Although sometimes they shoot one another and one group will extort money from another, when occasion demands they can work together. That is the situation and it is not easy to deal with it, although there have been some spectacular successes. However, more needs to be done.