Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Question 75: To ask the Minister for Justice and Law Reform the number of meetings he has had with the new Northern Ireland Minister for Justice, David Ford, MLA; if he is satisfied with the amount of personnel available in the Border region to maintain the necessary surveillance and security that is needed to continue the good work which has already been carried out to ensure that those who are trying to re-open the Northern Ireland problems are dealt with in a proper way; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42826/10]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Policing and justice responsibilities were devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly on 12 April 2010. The Garda Commissioner and I held a first meeting with Minister Ford, who was accompanied by PSNI Chief Constable Baggott, on 16 April in Stormont. Since then I have met with Minister Ford on several occasions. We have twice met to review formally cooperation under the Intergovernmental Agreement on Cooperation on Criminal Justice Matters. We also met jointly in September with Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Justice Kenny MacAskill MSP and in October we addressed the annual Cross-border Organised Crime Seminar in Belfast. Minister Ford also joined me at a Garda graduation event in Templemore late last month.

In the last week Minister Ford and I have appeared before the Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, addressed the first annual seminar on cross-border cooperation between the two Probation Services (which was immediately followed by a meeting to review criminal justice cooperation under the Agreement) and attended an event in Dundalk marking the launch of a new academic research project on the Peace Process. These meetings serve to highlight the closeness of the relationship between the various criminal justice and law enforcement agencies in our two jurisdictions and the importance that both Minister Ford and I place on ensuring that North-South cooperation is supported and enhanced, for the benefit of all the people of Ireland.

In respect of the second part of the Deputy's question, I can assure him that An Garda Síochána and the Police Service of Northern Ireland are resolute in their determination to maintain and reinforce the already excellent level of cooperation that they enjoy, and which has played a significant role in preventing attacks in the border region. Such cooperation has resulted in a number of individuals being arrested and brought before the Courts on terrorism-related charges. The counter-terrorism strategies and intelligence-led operations of An Garda Síochána, in cooperation with its counterparts in Northern Ireland, are focused on targeting and disrupting any operational planning or logistical support being conducted or contemplated in this jurisdiction. I am fully satisfied that the level of policing and security resources, both overt and covert, dedicated to this task continues to be commensurate to the threat posed.