Vol. 401 No. 4
92 Mr. D. Ahern asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the harassment being occasioned upon a person (details supplied) in County Louth by members of the Customs and Excise division between 24 June 1990 and 30 June 1990, particularly the repeated stopping and examination of his lorries; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that, during the period referred to by the Deputy, the movement of hydrocarbon oil road tankers was monitored by the Customs and Excise service as a measure to combat smuggling of oils from Northern Ireland. This monitoring operation applied to vehicles owned by oil traders generally. While vehicles owned by the person in question were stopped by Customs and Excise staff during this period, they were not singled out for special attention and the Revenue Commissioners do not accept that any harassment of the person in question was involved.
