Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)

I do not wish to give the impression that I do not believe good progress has been made. I do not have any illusions about anything close to all shipments coming into the country being intercepted. I recall reading that on the south coast of England local people were employed to walk the coastline because they would be able to identify any strange ships, whereas a stranger would not be able to differentiate between yachts, which is the type of vessel that blends in. To the best of my recollection that was a customs operation.

In addition to the Naval Service resource, the Minister has access to military intelligence, which rightly is highly regarded. The Minister made the point that the big seizures have been intelligence-led and that is the most economic and efficient way of doing it. To what extent is military intelligence involved in this process in regard to human trafficking in addition to drugs?

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