Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I refer to the progress that has been made in the Stormont House talks. Hopefully, the remaining vestiges of paramilitarism can be removed. There is continuing criminality and large-scale smuggling in the Border areas. Cross-Border smuggling of cigarettes and fuel laundering continue to cause problems, costing both Governments hundreds of millions each year. The south Armagh region has a particularly high concentration of fuel laundering plants and other illegal activity. In fact, policing in south Armagh is so light that the criminals openly demonstrate their existence and carry on with impunity. The operational districts of both the Garda Síochána and the PSNI should be open to one another in a corridor along the Border as further enhancement of the very excellent liaison which exists between them.

In south Armagh criminals seem to operate their own fiefdoms with a proliferation of blue alert sign notices. These unofficial notices have been erected in public areas throughout south Armagh and invite the public to report to them rather than the police. Do they think they are the law in that region? How can this be tolerated in a democratic society? I trust that the talks which are apparently making such good progress at Stormont are dealing with this issue as well.