Marie Moloney (Labour)

I add my voice of welcome to the medics from Bahrain in the Public Gallery who are supporting their colleagues. I support Senator O'Brien's request.

I wish to raise the issue of diesel laundering. This activity costs the country approximately €150 million in lost revenue. Illegal diesel causes many problems for motorists who use it. When an agent is added to remove the dye from the diesel, it also removes the lubricants. That damages the engines of cars. If it is caught early, it can cost one up to €2,000 but if it is not caught in time, it can cost anything up to €16,000 to replace the engine in a car.

This is a major issue. Up to now we believed diesel laundering was prevalent in the Border counties but it has spread throughout the country. It is to be found in every county and on the forecourts of petrol stations. I request the Minister to redeploy more resources to the Customs and Excise and the Garda to deal with this problem and stamp out this criminal activity which has become a major issue. The Leader might ask the Minister to come to the House in order that we can the debate what proposals he has to stamp out this activity. Furthermore, it costs a great deal of money to clean up the sludge that is dumped following this laundering.