Mr. Niall Cody:

I hate to start the answer like this but I will do so anyhow. The primary responsibility for addressing illegal fuel lies with the local authorities in regard to licensing, and the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. They have responsibility for the allowing of sale of illegal coal. With regard to cross-Border activity, because of the Northern Ireland protocol, there are no Border controls between Northern Ireland and the Irish market. There is no legal basis for us to have Border controls on fuel coming in. Our responsibility in respect of fuel relates to the solid fuel carbon tax. The challenge we have is there are essentially two regimes that have a significant price differential. There is no carbon tax in Northern Ireland and there is a reduced rate of VAT. We have no role in regard to smoky coal for example. We are concerned about the tax challenges relating to it. Last Friday, I sat in on a meeting about the policing of the solid fuel carbon tax and the plans we have started. There were new regulations from the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications last October. We already engage with the local authorities. Next year we want a programme of controls in which we will invite the local authorities to accompany us on multilateral vehicle patrols to establish whether there are people coming down with loads. I am worried that there are retailers who source their fuel knowing that it is not subject to control. There a business is selling fuel it has sourced from a wholesaler in Northern Ireland. We want to do a programme analysing where sales are. We talked about this. The legitimate wholesale trade can see where retailers are not sourcing their fuel from it. We would be interested in any of that intelligence and it will be dealt with in a confidential manner. When the solid fuel carbon tax was introduced in legislation, one of the challenges was that it was to be commenced by ministerial order. The desire at the time was that there would be a carbon tax on both sides of the Border that would be brought in at the same time. It never happened in the North. The price differential now is significant. The challenges are that some fuel merchants in the North are doing sales and deliveries in the South. They are doing it on housing estates. We are interested in building up intelligence on that to see how we can enforce a debt. However, it is not like customs. If someone was bringing in tobacco illegally from France through Rosslare we would seize the goods and the vehicle. If someone is bringing in smoky coal from the North we have no powers to do what a border would normally involve. It is a challenge when you have two regimes, one of which has a big price differential, but you do not have border controls. I am most worried about the idea that businesses are selling fuel they have sourced in the North. Then there is a wider issue. There is a VAT issue and an income tax issue. It is not just about solid fuel.