Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his reply and I fully appreciate from the exchange that we had the last day, and indeed in conversation, that he is familiar with the policing needs of the Border area. I will give one example. There are four Garda districts in Cavan Monaghan. The Cavan district now encompasses what was formerly Cavan and the Ballyconnell district. That district alone has 80 km of a border with County Fermanagh. There are, to my memory, 21 official crossings and there are unofficial crossings as well. The Minister will appreciate that there are huge demands on our Garda personnel. They are already overstretched. I am a regular attender at our joint policing committee meetings. We hear time and time again from the superintendents and the chief superintendents that resources are stretched.

The Minister is aware as well that over the years there are unsavoury elements operating along the Border. We know of the illicit trade in fuel and tobacco products. Unfortunately, all of those people have not gone away. That is an extra demand as well in regard to the thuggery of those particular criminals and their unsavoury activities doing huge damage to decent businesses along the Border. We have to ensure that An Garda Síochána has the necessary personnel and other resources that it needs where there are huge and difficult policing demands. That one division-----

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