John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Finance if he has coordinated a meeting of relevant Government Departments on the issue of fuel laundering in the border counties with a view to coordinating action; the latest update on Government action to crack down on fuel laundering; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54501/12]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners, who have responsibility for mineral oil tax, that meetings on co-ordinating the response to fuel laundering and illicit fuel take place between relevant Government departments and agencies and their counterparts in Northern Ireland on a regular basis under the auspices of the Cross Border Fuel Fraud Enforcement Group. Agencies involved in this Group include, inter alia, the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, Revenue, the Criminal Assets Bureau and the Gardaí. In addition, the Revenue Commissioners and the Department of Justice and Equality meet annually on matters relating to cross-border organised crime. On the action to crack down in fuel laundering, during 2012, Revenue strengthened the licensing conditions that apply to traders dealing in auto fuels and introduced a new licensing regime for traders dealing in marked fuels. From January 2013, Revenue will introduce a new requirement that all licensed fuel traders make monthly returns of fuel movements and transactions. These new control measures will make it more difficult for criminals to source marked fuel for laundering or to put laundered fuel on the market.

In addition, Revenue is working closely with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs in the UK to tackle the problem on a co-ordinated basis. As part of this process, in June 2012, Revenue and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs issued jointly an ‘Invitation to Make Submissions’ on a new and more effective marker for rebated fuel that could be implemented in both jurisdictions. The invitation yielded a very satisfactory number of responses by the closing date of 30 November and these will be evaluated jointly early in the new year.

The measures implemented to date by Revenue have produced very positive results. Over the last two years, over 70 filling stations have been closed, over two million litres of fuel have been seized and 20 oil laundries have been detected and closed. Revenue is confident that these measures, including those commencing in 2013, will have a significant further impact on illicit fuel operations.