asked the Minister for Finance the number of customs and excise officers employed in Dundalk and Carrickcarnan.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Customs and Excise Manning Levels.
14.
The numbers of customs and excise staff employed at locations mentioned in the question are as follows: Dundalk, 90 and Carrickcarnan, 27.
In view of the scale of smuggling in recent times, does the Minister not think that the number of customs officials employed at Carrickcarnan, namely, 27 is rather small?
I would have to say that on the whole I am happy with the deployment of customs officers as between the different posts.
In view of the fact that all of the staff at Carrickcarnan are not on at the same time, as they have to work on a rota basis, will the Minister provide adequate staff for that post and also for Dundalk? This would ensure that there would not be a minimum of a one mile back-up from Carrickcarnan to the North and on some occasions all the way back to Newry as has happened. It is not reasonable to expect our customs officials to try to cope with such a flow when they have such small numbers of staff. If the Minister visited the area he would see what the situation was, one that Deputy McGahon knows very well. It is impossible for the officials to do their job. They stop about one car out of 30 — that is all they can do. Unless the Minister can provide adequate resources in personnel it is quite clear that all our customs provisions will be undermined.
The deployment of the staff is a matter that is kept under constant review by the Revenue Commissioners. If Deputy O'Kennedy is suggesting we should stop every car, certainly that is a matter I will take up with the Revenue Commissioners.
We are now having an argument.
Although there has been a cutback of £2 million in the Vote for the Revenue Commissioners this year since the Estimates were published, I hope there is no cutback in this area. I should like the Minister to confirm that. In addition, I ask him to go and see for himself the conditions at that post. Is there any reason the Minister should not go?
He was there yesterday.
It is a belated conversion. He must have picked a quiet day.
I do not have to wait for the Deputy's invitation to go there.
Will the Minister tell the House what he saw there? What did the officials on the spot tell him about conditions?
This is great "home folksy" stuff but I am not sure it is a proper matter for Question Time. However, I can assure the Deputy, as I assured him last week, that I do not need to wait for his invitation to see these matters for myself.
The Minister should do his job.
The Deputy need have no qualms about the diligence with which I do my job. I know he would like to do it instead of me.
I am calling Question No. 15.