Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 365: To ask the Minister for Justice and Law Reform the nature of the cooperation he envisages between the forensic science services in this State and Northern Ireland; the areas in which there has been co-operation to date and the further initiatives, if any that arise following the trilateral meeting of Justice Ministers that took place on the 27 September 2010 in Dundalk [36360/10]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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A strand of the Intergovernmental Agreement on Co-operation on Criminal Justice Matters provides for North/South co-operation in the area of forensic science with the aim of identifying areas of mutual support and promoting the exchange of expertise and best practice between the Forensic Science Laboratory and Forensic Science Northern Ireland.

Current priorities for cooperation are set out in the Criminal Justice Co-operation Work Programme 2010-2011 which Northern Ireland Justice Minister David Ford MLA and I agreed and published in July 2010. Specifically, the forensic science priority under the current work programme is to develop a Memorandum of Understanding between the Forensic Science Laboratory and Forensic Science Northern Ireland to provide for mutual support in the event of sudden loss or damage to facilities.

At my recent meeting with Minister Ford and Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Justice Kenny MacAskill MSP on 27 September 2010 I took advantage of the opportunity presented by the meeting to discuss with Minister Ford plans to develop the Memorandum of Understanding, the preparation of which is being progressed by the Director of the Forensic Science Laboratory and her Northern Ireland counterpart.

Co-operation with the Scottish Government in the area of forensic science was also discussed and, following on from my meeting with Ministers Ford and MacAskill, representatives of the Forensic Science Laboratory, Forensic Science Northern Ireland and Scottish Forensic Services will meet later this month to explore further possibilities for enhanced operational co-operation and the sharing of expertise and data between the three forensic science services.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 366: To ask the Minister for Justice and Law Reform the new initiatives to be taken to tackle organised crime on a cooperative basis with the Northern Ireland Minister for Justice arising out of the trilateral meeting held in Dundalk on the 27 September 2010 [36361/10]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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On 27 September at the Stephenstown Pond Conference Centre, Dundalk I hosted the first trilateral meeting with my counterparts in Northern Ireland and Scotland, Minister of Justice, Mr David Ford, MLA, and Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Mr. Kenny MacAskill, MSP.

The meeting focused primarily on issues of common interest relating to human trafficking, organised crime, forensic science, DNA databases, police training and approaches to reducing offending. We reviewed measures being taken in each jurisdiction to deal with human trafficking and the cooperation of the law enforcement authorities in coping with a crime which respects no borders. It was recognised that there already is a high level of cooperation taking place between the three jurisdictions and we expressed our determination that this be continued and intensified.

The possibility of including human trafficking as a discrete area of cooperation under the Intergovernmental Agreement was discussed and arrangements are currently being made in this regard. It was agreed that there would be a joint awareness raising campaign in both jurisdictions in relation to human trafficking. It is expected that this will take place in early 2011. In addition, arrangements are in train for a meeting to take place in December between officials of my Department and the Scottish Government with a view to enhancing existing cooperation arrangements in the field of human trafficking.

I also took this opportunity to brief my colleagues on developments here in relation to organised crime and the intensive measures, including substantial and wide-ranging changes in the law, which had been undertaken here.

Finally I understand that a senior official from the Organised Crime Unit of the Scottish Government attended the North South Organised Crime Seminar which was held in Belfast last week. Officials from the three jurisdictions met in the margins of the seminar for initial discussion on how to move forward with such joint cooperation.

I look forward to achieving further progress in this area in the coming months.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 367: To ask the Minister for Justice and Law Reform if he will detail the new initiatives proposed or the action to be taken in relation to human trafficking as a consequence of the meeting that recently took place in Dundalk between the Northern Ireland Minister for Justice and the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Justice [36364/10]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The possibility of including human trafficking as a discrete area of cooperation under the Intergovernmental Agreement was discussed at the meeting with the Northern Ireland Minister of Justice and the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Justice on 27 September 2010. Arrangements are currently being made in this regard. It was also agreed that there would be a joint awareness raising campaign in both Northern Ireland and in this jurisdiction. It is expected that this will take place in early 2011.

Arrangements are in train for a meeting to take place in December between officials of my Department and the Scottish Government with a view to enhancing existing cooperation arrangements in this field.