Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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543. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if his attention has been drawn to disincentives to lateral entry or transfer between An Garda Síochána and the PSNI; if he has discussed these disincentives with other Departments or with Minister David Ford with a view to overcoming or removing these. [55236/13]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I met with the Northern Ireland Minister of Justice, David Ford MLA, on 17 December last and we were joined by the Garda Commissioner and the PSNI Chief Constable. The programme of personnel exchanges, secondments and lateral entry between An Garda Síochána and the PSNI which has operated for some years now, was among a number of issues we discussed in the context of the positive, ongoing North-South co-operation in policing and criminal justice. Minister Ford and I have asked our officials and the two police forces to meet with a view to identifying ways in which the maximum benefit for all sides might be achieved through these worthwhile programmes.