Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I want to know whether there was a discussion at the summit meeting on the issue of how to protect the Single Market in the event of the emergence of a difficult Brexit. None of us wants any installations or hardening of the Border, as has been said. Nonetheless, the Minister for Finance advised me the other day that there are a total of 210 Revenue customs and excise staff employed in the Border counties on what are called compliance issues, that is, customs and excise. The Taoiseach must be aware and must have Garda briefing to the effect that there is a significant upsurge of smuggling along the Border. It is a problem for both sides of the Border. There is a real issue for all the Border communities as to how legitimate traders will be protected. Let us be honest, 210 compliance staff and 20 trained detector dog teams are just not going to do it for us. We understand that the Taoiseach must play his cards close to his chest, but Chancellor Merkel will ask him this question tomorrow because it is the Single Market that must be protected. We want to stay in the Single Market and we would like Britain to be in it as that would be a very good outcome that would help us. However, I find the figures of 20 trained sniffer dog teams and 210 compliance staff scary. The Taoiseach promised us on various occasions that 400 staff would be recruited by now. I am not aware that they have been recruited. They are being recruited. Another 200 were to follow. Perhaps the Taoiseach could update us on that.

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