P J Sheehan (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 535: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will provide a broad outline of the work that will be undertaken by the new Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre to be based in Portugal; the involvement of his Department and other State agencies in the work of this new agency; if there are plans to set up a sub office of this agency in this country along the south-west coast; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23927/07]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The illegal drug trade and abuse of cocaine affects the population of every member State of the MAOC(N). It is estimated that over 300 tonnes of cocaine are trafficked into Europe each year. Intelligence suggests that the vast bulk of this is shipped into Europe via the North Atlantic and Western Africa.

In Lisbon in September, I signed the International Agreement establishing the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre (Narcotics). Seven countries including Ireland have agreed to form the Centre and others have now expressed an interest in joining. Europol and the US Joint Inter-Agency Task Force (JIATF) will be observers at the centre.

The centre will be inter-agency, focused on intelligence exchange leading to the interdiction of large maritime and aviation drug shipments, and the severing of links between transportation networks and the shore based command and control personnel. It is designed as an international co-ordination force with access to national tasking agencies and requires participation and resources from all active members. It will be organised to maximise operational effectiveness and staffed by experienced personnel. The centre will assist in integrating the control strategies of its members in this specialist arena of maritime and aviation interdiction.

Ireland will place a Garda Drugs Liaison Officer and a Customs Liaison Officer at the Centre on a full time basis. The Naval Service will place an officer at the Centre as the need arises when it is involved in operational activity there. Participation in the Centre provides Ireland with access to a permanent facility for co-ordinating actionable intelligence relating to maritime and air drug smuggling in this geographical sector of the EU Frontier. Ireland will also have access to the pooled resources of member States. Another positive result will be increased effectiveness in protecting national and EU frontiers specifically in countering the cocaine threat, through the synchronisation and fusion of intelligence resources.

The thinking behind the Centre is that drugs law enforcement operations will be more effective if we can get a small number of liaison officers from each State working together, sharing information and intelligence while they are based in one building. Consequently, there are no plans to have sub-offices outside Lisbon.