Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am mindful that the recommendation from the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly follows its meetings with senior police officers, county managers and a range of key stakeholders. I met senior gardaí and PSNI officers in my role as justice spokesperson and strongly believe that we need a joint task force. We need to join up the capacity on the island to tackle the problem. I do not need to remind the Minister that the problem has cost us hundreds of millions of euro over the years, which money could be invested in our health service or education system. The illegal activity damages legitimate businesses which have struggled through the austerity era. I would like to see a dedicated focus. Every single Deputy and Senator in these Houses would be supportive of such a proposal. The Minister should consider joining up the resources on this island, working with her counterpart in the North and delivering a clear message to those on both sides of the Border that there will be zero tolerance of the tiny minority who are taking huge amounts of money from our revenue and plaguing communities in the Border area.

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