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

The agreement was reached with no help from Fianna Fáil. It includes a provision for a joint agency or task force involving both An Garda Síochána and the PSNI, as well as Revenue and other agencies and officials on either side of the Border. Sinn Féin has been calling for such a body for a long time. To the extent that Deputy Smith's Bill makes any positive suggestions at all, it is simply to replicate what is already in train. I welcome the Deputy to catch-up land.

As I said, these measures are supported by both the Northern Executive and the Government. Let us be clear about what we are at here. Dumping waste from diesel laundering or being involved in diesel laundering is a criminal activity, in whatever county it takes place. People in the midlands, in the south of the country and probably in Deputy Smith's constituency are involved in it. Criminals are not republicans. In fact, one cannot be a criminal and be a republican. Let us be clear on that point. Despite the insinuations being made by some people in Fianna Fáil and some journalists, the fact is that republicans in Border areas, as Deputy Smith knows, have been prime targets of the criminals involved in these activities. In February of this year, Frank McCabe, a member of Sinn Féin, suffered serious injuries as a result of a bomb placed outside his home in Crossmaglen by some of those involved in the fuel-smuggling trade. Sinn Féin MP Conor Murphy has received death threats from those same criminals. Other party members have been attacked and had their cars burnt out and their homes attacked. The reason they are being targeted is that they stood up to these gangs, spoke out about them and called on members of the community to co-operate with the authorities to stamp out the activities in which they are engaging. That is why Sinn Féin members are at the receiving end of criminal retaliations. Such activity has nothing to do with and can have nothing to do with the republican movement.

It should be noted, moreover, that the same people who have attacked Sinn Féin members have close connections with the criminals who murdered Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe in north Louth in 2013. They have not yet been brought to justice for that crime. To suggest, as some have done, that Sinn Féin would have any truck with those people is a gross insult to our members throughout the country. Furthermore, it portrays a completely distorted view of what is happening with regard to cross-Border crime. Of course, we should not be surprised to see that type of opportunism from some in Fianna Fáil and from the same journalists who have made ludicrous claims over the years about my party.

I have it on good authority that since April and the introduction of a new diesel additive, there has been little to no diesel-laundering activity in the Ring of Gullion area of south Armagh and only one case of diesel dumping. As a result of practical measures such as the use of this diesel additive, laundering is now near the bottom of the list of factors impacting the management of the environment in the area. That result is down to the meaningful and effective measures implemented by the authorities on both sides of the Border. These realities highlight the opportunistic nature of the Bill that Deputy Smith has brought forward. Wherever there is a land border, agencies on both sides must adopt a joined-up approach in tackling criminal activities. As the Minister outlined, we will now have a cross-Border task force, thanks to the hard work of members of the Executive, the two Governments and their officials to reach agreement in that regard. The parties of the Executive, both Unionists and republicans, are committed to the initiative. As I already noted, Deputy Martin wanted to collapse the Executive only a few months ago. When it comes to a choice between progress and point scoring, Fianna Fáil just cannot resist the latter, particularly a few months out from an election.

What is needed now is more integration between the various agencies north and south of the Border, along the lines of the Loughs Agency model, with direct access to the relevant Ministries in the Twenty-six Counties. At the moment, the protocol is to go through Newry and Mourne District Council, which must then contact Louth County Council, with the latter, in turn, having to contact the relevant Ministry. That is not an efficient way of doing things, and I hope the new task force will facilitate more direct lines of communication. It is in everybody's interests that this should work. There is a myth put about that nearly all criminal activity in this State happens in the Border area. In fact, there is criminal activity in every constituency, including in Deputy Smith's and in my own. The impression must not go out from here today that huge portions of the population in the Border area are involved in criminal activity.

Stopping any type of criminal activity requires citizens to come forward with information. In this instance, it also requires co-operation on the part of both Governments and by the police forces on both sides of the Border. The new task force is a great initiative that will help us to tackle some of the issues we have discussed. As an environmentalist, I am very concerned about the environmental impacts of fuel laundering. The Minister of State indicated that the cost to the State is €7 million, which we all would agree could have been better spent. The cost is one thing and the damage to the environment is another. We cannot have a situation in which the environment is put in peril. As I understand it, the dumping of diesel-laundering waste has greatly reduced, which is very welcome, but we must stamp it out completely.

I will conclude on a positive note, in contrast to the scurrilous insinuations made by Fianna Fáil and the likes of Jim Cusack regarding the people of the Border area. The Ring of Gullion has just received orders for 80,000 trees as part of the One Million Trees in One Day project, which benefits from all-island funding and co-operation. It is these types of initiative that Fianna Fáil should be backing, instead of demonising the people of the region. We look forward to continuing to work and give leadership on these issues and to encouraging people to engage with the relevant agencies with a view to protecting the environment and stamping out criminality. We all can agree on that aim because it is in everybody's interest. It is the real republican way forward.

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