Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade further to Parliamentary Question No. 25 of 19 July 2012, if he will have further urgent consideration given to the requests of Clones Town Council that the north/south joint secretariat arrange a meeting with the relevant statutory agencies both north and south to deal with serious anti-social driving practices on the N54/A3 road which are a source of concern to residents on both sides of the border; if he will agree that a coordinated approach is needed by statutory agencies in both jurisdictions to deal with these issues; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45090/12]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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The North-South Ministerial Council Joint Secretariat has consulted with a number of Departments and agencies which felt that they could not assist further as regards anti-social driving practices on the N54-A3 road. This is essentially a policing issue and the NSMC does not have any role in the matter nor any authority to progress it further. However, I appreciate the seriousness of this issue and believe we should do everything possible to address the risks and concerns caused by dangerous driving on the road in question. Accordingly, I will also ask my colleague, the Minister for Justice and Equality, to look into the matter in conjunction with his opposite number in Northern Ireland. I will also seek to raise the issue at my future meetings with Northern Ireland colleagues.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Tánaiste for his reply and his recognition of the very serious concerns of the local community. If I travel from Cavan Town to Clones, I must travel into County Fermanagh on three different occasions. There is a serious policing difficulty in regard to particular stretches of that road. I fully realise there are no easy resolutions to these difficulties.

The North-South Joint Ministerial Council met the Clones joint policing committee in 2011. At that meeting, they agreed to convene a meeting of all the relevant statutory agencies, both North and South. A preliminary date was set verbally on the telephone for such a follow-up meeting. Subsequently, the secretariat wrote stating that it had made contact with the various statutory agencies, both central and local, and that there was nothing further it could do in regard to convening a meeting.

The Tánaiste will accept that by sitting the representatives of statutory agencies around a table, people can outline what they can do and the limits on what they can do. On the evening of the meeting with the Clones joint policing committee, the town clerk, a very conscientious official, and the then mayor of Clones Town Council, Deirdre Kelly, wrote a follow-up letter to the joint secretariat pointing out again the difficulties facing people travelling on that road. There is very heavy volume of ambulance traffic because it is the route between Cavan General Hospital and Monaghan General Hospital. People living along that road are concerned when these anti-social and dangerous driving practices take place.

We all know that much can be achieved by sitting down together instead of by writing to one another. The Garda Síochána has been doing everything possible and I have spoken to gardaí at local level and, through the Minister, at senior level. I appreciate the Tánaiste's offer to raise the issue at the North-South Ministerial Council but I suggest that he puts it to the council to let the secretariat call a meeting of all the interested parties and outline what can and cannot be done. Will he convey to the local citizens in counties Fermanagh, Monaghan and Cavan that we want to see these issues dealt with and that we do not underestimate the worries of the local community?

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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As Deputy Smith said, I acknowledge that this is a serious issue. We are talking about a stretch of road that crosses the Border on a number of occasions. It is being used for speed racing, joyriding and activity of that kind which is clearly hugely dangerous. There is a difficulty enforcing the law because the road straddles the two jurisdictions.

It is not the function of the North-South Ministerial Council because law enforcement does not come within its remit. However, it used its good offices to consult the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, the Department of Justice and Equality, the Road Safety Authority and the National Roads Authority and, on the Northern Ireland side, the Department of the Environment, the Department of Regional Development and the Department of Justice. All the stakeholders consulted were of the opinion that this was essentially an enforcement issue and a matter for the Garda Síochána and the PSNI.

As I said, I will discuss the matter with the Minister for Justice and Equality. As Deputy Smith is aware, I am in regular contact and communication with colleagues in the Northern Ireland Administration, including the First Minister, the Deputy First Minister and the Minister for Justice, and I will discuss with them the best way to deal with this issue in an co-ordinated way.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I very much appreciate the Tánaiste's help and perhaps he will come back to me when he can after he has further discussions. I have been pursuing this matter for some time and I want to be able to say to the local community that central government and the statutory agencies, working with the Executive in the North and its statutory agencies, will do everything they can.

As other public representatives did, I received communication from an individual who wrote that his daughter was travelling back to her home when, on the Clones-Cavan concession road, a rally car did a doughnut in the middle of the road watched by many spectators. She did not know this was going on full-time on the Border, mainly on the Northern side, and it was touch and go in regard to being a tragedy. It left her shaken and scared on such a long journey. That type of comment has been expressed to me on numerous occasions. We want every possible measure put in place to prevent any tragedy or accident.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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I acknowledge the problem and I assure Deputy Smith that I will do everything I can, working with colleagues and in communication with our counterparts in Northern Ireland, to have it addressed. It clearly has to be addressed on a cross-Border basis because it is a cross-Border problem. It is not a function of the North-South Ministerial Council and Deputy Smith will appreciate my reasons for not wanting to ascribe to the council law enforcement functions which are not its responsibility but there are ways in which we can deal with this on a cross-Border basis and I assure the Deputy we will proceed to do that.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Question No. 2 is in the name of Deputy Jonathan O'Brien, who is not present.

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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A mistake was made in regard to the parliamentary question.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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I am happy to answer it.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I am sorry to say that Standing Orders state priority questions must be in the name of spokespersons.