Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I will enthusiastically endorse the recommendations of the BIPA committee on cross-Border policing co-operation on illicit trade. Due recognition has been paid, and rightly so, to our friend and colleague, the Government Whip, Senator Paul Coghlan.

This is an important report because it focuses on an issue that those of us who live in the Border counties have been aware of for a long time. No one political party can be blamed, although the Troubles, as they were euphemistically called for 30 years, generated a new breed of unscrupulous criminal who, unfortunately, was aligned to the republican movement. Sinn Féin is a democratic party that has been elected on both sides of the Border by the people. If, as Senator Reilly just did, it now rightly condemns the panoply of smuggling, that is to be welcomed. I am not at all surprised to hear that some Sinn Féin members have been attacked. It indicates a split in the republican family, in that those who reluctantly gave up the gun decided to continue their smuggling activities.It has not changed its political complexion one little bit. That is not the issue at heart, but sometimes I get a little tired of the hypocrisy surrounding the issue in certain areas.

The report confirms that the level of cross-Border co-operation between the law enforcement agencies and officials is excellent, but it raises concerns about the level of resources being devoted to tackle cross-Border illicit trade. I subscribe to the view that there should be cross-Border pursuit in some form. I know that this is a politically sensitive issue which dates back a long time and on which many discussions took place during the British army's more sustained occupation of the Six Counties, when, even if there was the slightest incursion by a helicopter or Border patrols, it stated the maps were wrong. This raised sensitive questions in Border counties, in respect of which people were very aware of the lines dividing the North from the South. As a result of the close co-operation following the Good Friday Agreement, with almost everybody on song, perhaps there might be justification to examine the issue of cross-Border pursuit on both sides if the law enforcement agencies on both sides were in any way inhibited from pursuing those involved in illegal smuggling.

The financial damage being done to local authorities in dealing with the sludge generated by illegal laundering outfits is horrendous at a time when local authorities throughout the country are finding it very difficult and being put the pin of their collar financially. Last week I learned the reduction in the roads grant in County Leitrim from 2008 to 2015 had been in the order of 50%. I could not believe it. If this is happening in a small county such as Leitrim, what is it like in larger local authority areas? An extra financial burden is being placed on counties Monaghan, Louth and Cavan which suffer as a result of the activities of illegal traders because it costs millions to clean up toxic waste at fuel laundering sites.

The report notes the ease with which fuel fraud perpetrators can evade prosecution by transferring operations from one legal entity to another on detection. I find this somewhat frustrating. To draw a parallel, we dealt with international money laundering very effectively. Anybody with a bank account knows that every last cent must be accounted for and that one can longer go into a bank with a pile of money to put it into one's account without questions being asked. The same is true in the case of international business. I know that money laundering still occurs - I am not so naive as to think it does not - and that at the highest level billions of euro are involved. In general, money laundering legislation has worked, not only in this country but also throughout the European Union and the rest of the world. Why can we not address this issue in parallel by going after the fuel fraud perpetrators? If they operate legal entities, surely there must be a legislative model to ensure they can be chased, with the help of Revenue, the Garda and the PSNI.

I fully support the establishment of a permanent full-time multidisciplinary task force. It would be the beginning of a co-ordinated effort focusing on activities on both sides of the Border. I am impressed to hear 2,000 Revenue personnel are involved in enforcement activities on the Southern side of the Border. This gives an idea of the scale of the problem being faced. I have met several Revenue staff who constantly monitor the movement of fuel at Dublin Port and trace it to alleged illegal forecourts. I was always of the opinion that illegal fuel was laundered in fly-by-night operations, but in recent weeks the car of our Chief Whip was damaged by fuel he had purchased from a legitimate source in his native county of Cavan with which he had dealt for years. There was no reason to think the problem would occur. It involved a reputable internationally branded company, not a fly-by-night operator. The problem is infiltrating companies with status, as well as branded companies. It is a sad day that the Irish motorist must think twice before going to any forecourt in the Border counties to purchase fuel.