Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Creighton, who I presume is taking this item.

Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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Especially for the Deputy.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State. We are getting used to these exchanges.

One of the sad points about this is that we are obliged to have a discussion about it at all. Dissident republican activity has been escalating in recent months. A significant number of bombs have been located and diffused by Army experts and Derry has been rocked by explosions earlier in the year. This is compounded by splinter republican groups, such as RAAD in Derry, which continue to terrorise their communities. Continued cross-Border co-operation on dissident groups between security forces needs to be maintained and developed. Continued investment in areas blighted by paramilitary activity should remain a priority for both the Government and the Opposition.

Last night in Derry the police found a number of explosive devices in a flat and arrested a man suspected of republican dissident activity. Police stated the devices were found in a flat in a built-up residential area and could have caused significant damage or serious harm. Residents, including elderly people, children and disabled people were evacuated from the area. This highlights the ongoing threat that dissident republican activity represents to the lives of ordinary decent families throughout the North of Ireland.

On Monday last, seven men engaged in dissident republican activity were charged with engaging in conduct in preparation for committing acts of terrorism, possession of a firearm and ammunition, and attending a place used for terrorist training. The men were charged with offences relating to an alleged terrorist training camp near Omagh. Clearly, these groups are organised and attempting to upskill and ramp up their terrorist activity. In January of this year two bombs exploded in Derry, for which the Real IRA was presumed to be responsible. We know the Real IRA has an active unit in Derry which has been responsible for a number of attacks on symbolic targets across the city. Two years ago the terror group bombed a branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland-owned Ulster Bank, and last year admitted responsibility for two bomb attacks on branches of the Bank of Santander.

The Republican Action Against Drugs, RAAD, group was highlighted on last night's "Prime Time" programme. This is a vigilante group associated with dissident republican activity and was set up four years ago. RAAD bombs, shoots, exiles and threatens those it decides are guilty of drug dealing or anti-social behaviour. It is a small organisation, with an estimated membership of between 20 and 50, but it is having an extraordinarily chilling effect on a city that is to be the 2013 City of Culture. Reports indicate there have been at least 26 RAAD shootings in the Derry area which resulted in casualties. The group has detonated 21 pipe bombs. Community activists estimate that RAAD has threatened around 200 young men from Derry and exiled as many as 30 in the past three years.

In February, RAAD murdered a Derry native, Andrew Allen, near Buncrana, County Donegal. Its activities have spilled over the Border, therefore, as it hunts down people it believes to be guilty of drug dealing. It must be put on record that the Allen family completely rejects this accusation. RAAD told "Prime Time" it intends to begin targeting the Police Service of Northern Ireland. This would mark a major escalation of its campaign of violence and would further threaten the peace process and the normalisation of life in the Six Counties.

The PSNI's success against RAAD has been poor so far, with no prosecutions to date for any RAAD shooting and only three prosecutions for other crimes committed by suspected members of this organisation. The PSNI says it needs more co-operation from the community to get convictions and points out that even those that RAAD has shot are typically too afraid to give adequate witness statements.

The key to solving these problems is targeting investment in areas which are affected by dissident activity and ensuring that these communities co-operate with the PSNI investigations into the criminal group, RAAD, and other dissident republican activities. EU funding and cross-Border initiatives should continue to focus on developing these areas and strengthening the normalisation process. The spill-over of violence across the Border highlights the need for ongoing co-operation between the PSNI and An Garda Síochána. Information sharing and an assessment of the threat in places like Derry should be shared amongst the forces.

Details of the exiling of people, as picked up by the PSNI, should be forwarded to the Garda as many of these individuals who are forced into exile live in the Republic.

Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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I am replying to this matter in the absence of the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Gilmore. The peace process and the Good Friday Agreement have resulted in a transformation of society in Northern Ireland, perhaps most visibly in the normalisation of daily life and the dramatic decrease in terrorist-related incidents and violence. There remains, however, as the Deputy rightly pointed out, a substantial threat from so-called dissident republican paramilitary groups who continue to assert their determination to impose violence and a return to conflict on the people of Ireland towards an as-yet undefined end.

The threats to peace as posed by dissident groups are undoubtedly serious. Since 2009, a series of violent attacks by these dissident groups have taken place, resulting in injuries and in the deaths of two British Army personnel and two Catholic PSNI officers. The deaths of Sappers Quinsey and Azimkar and Constables Carroll and Kerr, and the continuing threats against the Police Service of Northern Ireland, are viewed with widespread revulsion across society on the island of Ireland. It is clear that these people enjoy no popular support within the community. They have nothing to offer the people of Ireland. They have been overwhelmingly rejected. Nothing showed this more clearly than the united cross-community response to the brutal murder of Constable Kerr just over a year ago. It is evident too in the more recent response by the people of Derry to publicly protest against the mindless actions of a minority who seek to impose their will on the community through violence. Strong and deepening co-operation between the Garda Síochána and the Police Service of Northern Ireland is doing much to counter such individuals and groups, who are flying in the face of the clearly and democratically expressed will of all the Irish people who share the island of Ireland. The number of arrests in connection with dissident activity made in both jurisdictions continues to be significant. The Garda and the Police Service of Northern Ireland will continue to co-operate closely to combat dissident activity on both sides of the Border. The joint statement by the Taoiseach and the UK Prime Minister, Mr. Cameron, on British-Irish relations in March of this year underlined the wish of both governments to see Northern Ireland move from peace to reconciliation and prosperity. Our joint efforts in support of these objectives must and will continue. Above all, we stand together with the people of Northern Ireland and its Executive in our determination to make sure they are never again blighted by violent conflict.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister of State's statement that there is close co-operation between the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Garda. It is vital for that to continue. There is a need for initiatives in the Twenty-six Counties area to counter dissident activity. As we are well aware, it is happening here as well. We need to be conscious that the areas of greatest deprivation in the Six Counties are the most fruitful recruitment grounds for these dissidents. There needs to be a strong resolve on the parts of the British and Irish Governments and the Northern Ireland Executive to ensure there is a continued flow of targeted investment to combat disadvantage in such areas. I am sure the Minister of State will agree with me in that regard. Perhaps she can give some specific details of what the British and Irish Governments are doing to ensure these areas are developed. That is necessary to encourage people to move away from the path of violence and to reduce the attraction of dissident groups for young unemployed males, in particular.

Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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It is not really for me to provide specific details on what is being done in this regard. I am sure the Tánaiste will discuss the matter with the Deputy in the House when he gets an opportunity to do so. It is clear that substantial funding is being spent through various North-South initiatives on either side of the Border. I agree with the Deputy that the most logical way of proceeding in this regard is by tackling the most disadvantaged and deprived areas. He alluded to the substantial EU funding that is being spent on cross-Border co-operation through the PEACE and INTERREG projects. I hope and believe we will be able to secure continued funding during the negotiations on the new budget outline for the period between 2014 and 2020. Resources are being channelled in a strategic and targeted way. The Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Garda Commissioner have both gone on the record to acknowledge the excellent relationship they have and to emphasise their joint determination to target security and policing problems. I hope everybody in this House is united on the need to ensure we can end this scourge both North and South of the Border.