Tony Kett (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister to the House and welcome this very important legislation. I see it as an additional weapon in the fight against organised crime, particularly the trafficking of drugs at sea. This complements the Criminal Justice (Joint Investigation Teams) Bill 2003 which we debated last week. What we are doing with both Bills is tackling these guys on the ground and at sea. I have no doubt that this legislation is sending out a clear message to the criminals that we are serious about our business in this regard and will not be deterred in our actions.

The Minister of State alluded to the fine work that the Garda, the Naval Service, the customs officers and the national drugs team are doing, and I echo those sentiments. They are doing a fine job in the most hazardous of conditions. If gardaí are involved in boarding ships – I am not sure if they are – they are probably, excuse the pun, out of their depth in terms of tackling these guys at sea. Nonetheless, the results have been formidable. The Garda has made a number of arrests and there have been quite a lot of seizures. If we hurt these fellows in the pocket, hopefully they will soon wise up. Co-ordination between all agencies is essential, particularly between our European partners because these fellows know no boundaries. They ply their trade wherever there is a buck to be made. If we co-operate and there are no hiccoughs, we should further improve our success rate.

The Minister referred to the initiative of enhanced operational co-operation between the law enforcement agencies, particularly the Garda, the Customs Service and the Naval Service. Added to these will be the joint task force. As these agencies are becoming more experienced, the situation will improve.

The Minister also referred to the drugs liaison officers in Europol and Interpol. Enhanced co-operation, particularly in information and intelligence sharing, is the way forward. The more information and intelligence there is, the better will be the strike rate. Even to date, they have been extremely successful and have pinpointed many operations. Many arrests and seizures have taken place on the high seas.