Michelle Mulherin (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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199. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of staff working in customs and excise for the purpose of the detection of illegal drugs who have statutory powers enabling them to stop and search and arrest persons and search and seize their property when appropriate; the number of these who operate in County Mayo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12937/14]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that their office is a fully integrated tax and customs administration and that it is not possible to disaggregate the resources deployed exclusively at any given time on the detection of illegal drugs. Revenue currently has approximately 2,000 staff engaged on activities that are dedicated to targeting and confronting non-compliance. These activities include anti-smuggling and anti-evasion, investigation and prosecution, audit, assurance checks, anti-avoidance, returns compliance and debt collection, and resources are redeployed across them on an ongoing basis in response to Revenue's assessment of risk.

Up to 50 staff based in Co. Mayo are engaged on these activities but additional support from outside the county is available and can be called on to assist in operations as required.  The Deputy will appreciate that, for reasons of operational sensitivity, the Revenue Commissioners are not in a position to give further details of enforcement deployment in specific locations.

Revenue officers are given authorisations, as appropriate, to exercise specific statutory powers relevant to the work in which they are engaged, including powers to stop persons, to conduct searches and to make arrests.