Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

As the Deputy may know there is already that type of co-operation between this State and the United Kingdom that has operated reasonably well and, in so far as we can put in place new measures in co-operation with Northern Ireland now that the area of justice has been devolved, we are continuing to explore those.

I should say to the Deputy that in dealing with this area I also met last week with Hugo Swire, MLA, the Minister of State in the Northern Ireland Office, who deals with matters in this area, and I have also maintained contact with the Secretary of State, Owen Paterson, MP. There is an ongoing flow of information and interaction between officials on both sides of the Border. A number of working groups have been established in the criminal justice area and joint working groups North and South are developing policies across a broad range of areas.

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