Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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Question 145: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his plans to work with the Department of Finance to ensure that the customs service is adequately resourced to stem the flow of narcotics into the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21128/08]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Our drug law enforcement response remains a vital feature of our overall response in addressing the drugs issue under the Government's National Drugs Strategy.

As the Deputy will appreciate, under the National Strategy it is the Customs Service which has primary responsibility for the prevention, detection, interception and seizure of controlled drugs at the point of importation. Given the nature of drug trafficking, the Customs Service work very closely on an ongoing basis with An Garda Síochána in carrying out this drug law enforcement.

In this respect, a framework for co-operation between the Customs and Excise Service of the Revenue Commissioners and the Garda Síochána with regard to drugs law enforcement is set out in a Memorandum of Understanding which is in place between both agencies.

This document was agreed and endorsed by Ministerial approval by the respective parent Departments of both agencies in January 1996.

The Memorandum also provided for the creation of operational guidelines implementing the Government decision for the Customs and Excise Service and the Garda Síochána, and in consultation with the Naval Service, to operate a Joint Task Force to deal with intelligence driven drug smuggling operations and "controlled deliveries."

In October 2000, the signing and implementation of an operational protocol for co-operation between the three agencies further developed this framework.

Under this framework, the Customs and Excise Service and the Garda Síochána support and co-operate fully with each other in connection with the interdiction of illegal drugs intended to be smuggled into the State.

As the Deputy will appreciate, the specific issue of resources for the Customs Service is one which comes under the direct remit of the Department of Finance.

With regard to this, I have been advised by my colleague, Brian Lenihan, T.D., the Minister for Finance, that he is satisfied that Revenue's Customs Service is properly resourced to tackle drug smuggling.

I have been further informed that in recent years there has been considerable increased investment in Customs detection resources. For example, the number of detector dog teams has increased from 6 in 1996 to 9 in 2003 and currently stands at 12.

There has been a significant investment in both maritime resources and x-ray scanning equipment and further investment has already been committed. The Irish Navy also plays a key maritime operational support role in assisting Customs in drugs surveillance and interdictions at sea.

Operational resources are deployed by Revenue using best practice risk management techniques coupled with the latest information emanating from organised crime drug threat assessments.

The Deputy will be aware that in today's world the effective use of resources is contingent on intelligence led operations and in this regard Revenue are currently engaged in assigning a Customs officer to Europol's headquarters in The Hague and to the recently developed Maritime and Operational Analysis Centre –Narcotics (MAOC-N) in Lisbon.

Customs also continue to manage and increase intelligence development by way of the National Drugswatch Programme and liaison with national and international law enforcement colleagues.

Revenue's dedicated Customs Drugs Law Enforcement Branch co-ordinates its national and international drugs enforcement operations and implements numerous joint investigations and controlled deliveries of illicit drugs. In the past three years a total of 73 controlled delivery operations have been carried out in conjunction with An Garda Síochána resulting in substantial supply detections of drugs and numerous arrests and prosecutions of those involved.

Finally, on the supply reduction side, the best methods of detecting drug smuggling include intelligence sharing, multi-agency and international co-operation and I can assure the House that both the Garda Síochána and the Customs Service are fully committed to working together in continuing to tackle this societal problem.