Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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498. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if she has in conjunction with her officials and or the Garda Commissioner developed a plan for an all-Ireland police force. [3365/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, there is close and ongoing co-operation between An Garda Síochána and the PSNI on all aspects of policing, with a particular focus on combatting cross-border crime. The Garda Commissioner and the Chief Constable of the PSNI, who are responsible for operational policing co-operation, have repeatedly emphasised that the close and high quality co-operation between their services has been instrumental in combating criminality, preventing attacks and saving lives.

The close co-operation between police services on both sides of the Border has been a key element of policing for some time and Commissioner Harris and Chief Constable Simon Byrne are in regular contact in this regard.

The current cross-border cooperation mechanisms are the result of extensive consultation and agreement between the police authorities and governments in both jurisdictions.

The two police services operate a joint Cross-Border Policing Strategy which has as its aims to improve public safety throughout Ireland, to disrupt criminal activity and to enhance the policing capability of both police services on the island. All of these are important elements in enabling the two services to work more effectively together in tackling crime and promoting community safety for all communities on this island.

Both An Garda Síochána and the PSNI are involved in the Joint Agency Task Force, established under the Fresh Start Agreement, which is comprised of both police services as well as other relevant agencies from both sides of the border. The Joint Agency Task Force has made strong progress in tackling cross-border criminal activity across a range of crime areas, not just the traditional smuggling activities, but also rural and farm crimes, organised burglary and drug crime.

A good practical example of on-going co-operation is the Annual Cross Border Conference on Organised Crime. The Conference brings officers from An Garda Síochána and the PSNI together to enhance co-operation between all law enforcement agencies on both sides of the border under the shared objective of combatting organised crime and the next one is due to take place in March.

I meet and maintain contact with the Northern Ireland Minister of Justice, Naomi Long MLA, to address matters of mutual concern and enhance effective co-operation and co-ordination on all criminal justice matters, including policing, and we are due to meet next week on these issues. In addition, a number of policy advisory groups consisting of officials from both jurisdictions meet regularly to exchange best practice, share learning and identify areas where cross-border collaboration would bring benefits.

The shared objective of the Government and the authorities in Northern Ireland is to enhance community safety on the whole of this island. We share many challenges in Ireland, North and South, and we will continue to work together in tackling them.