Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Revenue has primary responsibility for the detection, interception and seizure of prohibited and restricted products, including controlled drugs, at points of entry into the State including our territorial waters and adjacent seas. It maintains an enforcement presence at strategic locations and places particular emphasis on developing an intelligence-based focus at both national and regional level, deploying resources to areas of highest risk.

I am advised by Revenue that the role of its Maritime Unit, which has a national remit, is to provide maritime patrols and ensure compliance, carry out frontier controls, intelligence gathering, stakeholder liaison, vessel deep rummage capability and maritime-related expertise. This includes patrolling and monitoring internal waters, territorial seas and adjacent waters for the prevention, detection, interception and seizure of illegal importations and exportations of prohibited and restricted goods, including drugs. As well as patrolling at sea, Revenue’s Maritime Unit supports and works with land-based Revenue enforcement officers involved in anti-smuggling duties.

Revenue deploys two Revenue Customs Cutters (RCC), the RCC Suirbhéir and the RCC Faire, to patrol the coastline, undertake routine and intelligence led vessel controls and support maritime surveillance and intelligence gathering duties. The Cutters are crewed by Maritime Unit teams, each operating on a 24-hour basis for 8 days at a time. Maritime crews may operate at sea or on other maritime frontier-related activities, primarily at ports and harbours, depending on operational needs at a given time. Cutter teams were deployed for a total of 548 days in 2023 and 135 days to end-March 2024. Comparable figures are not available for 2022 due to a change in the manner in which statistics were recorded.

The Cutters are deployed to carry out and support multiple concurrent operations nationally. I am advised that some operations are single events, while others can span a number of months. This includes intelligence-led operations, surveillance operations, operations supported internationally, inter agency operations, as well as routine vessel controls. Vessels may be controlled at sea, at anchor or in port. Vessels may be controlled by officers attached to the Maritime Unit or by other Revenue enforcement officers working from ports.

The following table outlines the number of vessel controls carried out between 2022 and end March 2024:

Revenue works proactively with An Garda Síochána and the Naval Service in the fight against drug trafficking as part of the Joint Task Force on Drugs Interdiction. There is excellent cooperation between these agencies in the sharing of intelligence and the identification and investigation of the criminals involved in the illegal drugs trade. The Maritime Unit also works closely with EU and international law enforcement partners, including MAOC(N) [Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre – Narcotics] based in Lisbon, where Revenue has a full-time country liaison officer. MAOC-N was established in 2007 as an initiative of seven western European countries (Ireland, Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, the UK and the Netherlands), focused on reducing the threat of drug trafficking into the EU by sea.

The following table outlines the number of items seized by, or with the support of, Revenue’s Maritime Unit in 2023 and to date in 2024. These figures include seizures where the Revenue’s Maritime Unit either seized the illicit product or played a significant supporting role in a seizure carried out by Revenue’s other frontier enforcement teams. The seizure may have taken place at sea, in ports or along the coast. These statistics do not reflect the contribution made by Revenue’s Maritime Unit to the seizure of illicit product by other international law enforcement agents acting on foot of intelligence provided by Revenue’s Maritime Unit.

I am advised that the RCC Suirbhéir, which is in service since 2004, is approaching the end of its service life and Revenue has contracted to purchase a replacement vessel. A contract for the delivery of the new Customs Cutter was signed on 3 August 2023 with AuxNaval in Spain. The new Cutter is expected to come into service in 2025. The contract includes an option for a second Cutter, which could be a replacement for RCC Faire in time.

Revenue has informed me that specific competitions for assignment to the Maritime Unit are run periodically and have provided a steady pool of officers. The most recent such competition was held in 2022 and was confined to applicants from within the Civil Service. An open recruitment competition for assignment to the Maritime Unit, providing opportunity to a wider pool of candidates, will be advertised in the coming months.

This Government has been consistent in its strong support for ensuring that Revenue has the necessary resources to fulfil its mandate in respect of functions that are critical for its effective functioning as a tax and customs administration and I remain open to considering any proposals from Revenue that will support its work in combatting fraud, illicit trade and smuggling.