Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important Bill. Sinn Féin has long been anxious to stamp out criminal activity in the Border region and throughout the 32 counties of Ireland. It is good to see Fianna Fáil trying to play catch-up on that but, unfortunately, the Bill before us is something of a shambles. First, it is a clear attempt to score political points against Sinn Féin in the run-up to the general election. Second, it portrays an ignorance of, or wilful ignoring of, the fact that Sinn Féin, as a party to the Stormont House agreement, into which the Government put a great deal of work, is involved in serious and ongoing efforts to tackle the fuel smuggling and criminality which is ostensibly the subject of this legislation. It is disappointing to hear a Fianna Fáil Member acting as a mouthpiece for MI5, an organisation that was involved in running death squads in the occupied Six Counties for years.

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