Jim D'Arcy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

He sounds just like my children when they come looking for tickets for One Direction or Bon Jovi and they say: "This austerity is not working, Dad." I say: "It is like this. We have to get the structural deficit right so we can secure our future." At the end of the day, it is about securing the future for our children and our children's children.

Last Wednesday morning, the Criminal Assets Bureau, backed by 300 officers as well as military personnel on both sides of the Border, launched a wave of raids under the cover of darkness on almost 20 premises to try to deal with the fuel laundering. It was a massively successful operation. The CAB believes the diesel laundering ring it hit with simultaneous raids is the largest and most complex operation that has been busted to date. I would like to congratulate everybody involved.

I would also like to point out that the political response to diesel laundering has come from the Seanad. Senator Terry Brennan raised it, Senator John Whelan put down a motion on it and I also put down a motion which was well discussed in the House. We have had the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, to the House on a number of occasions and he promised he would work hard to deal with it. Now, it has finally been tackled. I would like us to invite the Minister of State, Deputy Hayes, to the House again to give us an update because it was his reports that made progress in registering this issue. We should have him in again to give us a full report because now is not the time to stop. We must continue until this criminal activity is done away with and wiped out for good.