Declan Breathnach (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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194. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the status of the cross-Border crime agency; the total number of staff involved, agencies engaged and annual budget; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26399/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Joint Agency Task Force was one of the important commitments under the 'Fresh Start' Agreement to tackle cross-border organised crime, including that linked to paramilitarism. The Joint Agency Task Force is led by the police and revenue services and brings together the relevant law enforcement agencies to better co-ordinate strategic and operational actions against cross-border organised crime. It involves senior officers from An Garda Síochána, the PSNI, the Revenue Commissioners and HM Revenue and Customs; it also includes the Criminal Assets Bureau and UK National Crime Agency as well as other interested law enforcement services (such as environmental protection agencies and immigration services).

One of the advantages of the structure of the Task Force is its flexibility in providing for different agencies to be engaged at an operational level depending on the nature of the operation and requirements for expertise. In that regard the numbers of personnel involved is variable. From a Garda perspective the work of the Task Force is embedded into the Garda organisation and can draw, therefore, on the full range of Garda and Criminal Assets Bureau expertise and resources in accordance with operational demands.

The Joint Agency Task Force has been operational and active since the start of this year and I received the first six-monthly report on its work at my meeting with the Northern Ireland Minister of Justice, Claire Sugden MLA on 4 July. The report is available on my Department's website.

The report details the work that has been undertaken in establishing the Joint Agency Task Force as well as the particular areas of cross-border criminal activity that have been the subject of joint operations. There have, for example, been specific operations targeting rural crime, child sexual exploitation and human trafficking for labour exploitation that have resulted in a number of arrests, the seizure of stolen vehicles, equipment and other goods, cash and drugs and the identification by the Revenue services of unregistered business interests. In respect of rural crime, there was also a specific focus on awareness-raising and providing crime prevention advice at community level on both sides of the border.

The report illustrates the positive and proactive approach that the Joint Agency Task Force has taken over its first six months and I commend the work of all of the agencies involved.