Organised crime is a new phenomenon in this country. It began to raise its ugly head in the 1980s and has its origins in illegal drug trading. The Government's response to it has been hard hitting as evidenced by the volume of legislation put through both Houses in recent months. I attended a meeting of the Select Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women's Rights when discussing the Criminal Justice (Illicit Traffic by Sea) Bill 2000 which had at its core the tackling of drug barons who brought their drugs here by sea. Our coastline is more than 3,000 kilometres long, a difficult coastline to protect. In attempting to protect it we also introduced the Criminal Justice (Joint Investigation Teams) Bill 2003, the purpose of which was to bring about an association with various countries, liaising with each other in a cohesive and incisive way to tackle drug barons on the ground. The friendships and liaisons that have developed between our communities as a result of that legislation will benefit us greatly in the war against these individuals.