I should like to share my time with my constituency colleague, Deputy Sheehan.
Adjournment Debate. - Drug Landings in South-East Cork.
Is that agreed? Agreed.
Our happiness at the success of the Garda Síochána in seizing the £5 million of drugs being imported into west Cork last weekend is tempered by the knowledge that this consignment may have been only the tip of the iceberg.
All credit to the Garda Síochána for their success and particularly to Garda Tim Murnane who sustained gunshot wounds during the course of duty. I am glad the news about him is good and I hope he will be back on duty soon.
Unfortunately, it is now very clear that the hundreds of miles of rugged coastline in west Cork have become a honeypot for drug smugglers. We had the huge £7 million haul in Courtmacsherry in 1991 and a further haul of over £1 million in Roscarbery last month. The question that needs to be addressed is how many of these shipments have got through. Certainly I am aware of a substantial landing a few years ago on an island near Schull which was never traced. There is considerable evidence to suggest that there were many other such landings — mainly with drugs from the Mediterranean region.
There is also some evidence that because the United States is more successful in disrupting South American drugs supply routes that drug producers are turning their attention to the European market. West Cork is, of course right on the shipping line between Europe and the Americas and is particularly vulnerable as a possible access for drug traffickers to the UK and mainland Europe.
These drug traffickers are very unwelcome visitors as far as the people in west Cork are concerned. However, it is not a west Cork problem in that their supplies are intended for elsewhere. It is not even solely an Irish problem. There is a major European dimension in all this business. Accordingly, if it is accepted that we have a European problem we are entitled to support from the EC for the measures necessary to tackle it.
I would hope for agreement from the Minister on the following measures. Resources and equipment of the Garda Síochána, the customs and other regulatory agencies in west Cork should be strengthened and improved. I accept that from the point of view of what is termed "ordinary" crime, my area thankfully is not as badly affected as the cities. On the other hand, adequate manpower is needed to police such an enormous stretch of coastline. I should mention that we now have cause to miss the light keepers from the Old Head of Kinsale, The Galley, the Fastnet Rock, the Mizen and elsewhere since all these lighthouses have become automated. Furthermore, in relation to equipment, we must have available to the Garda top class modern gear which is as good as if not better than anything available to the drug smugglers. I am talking of high powered binoculars, night sight equipment, infrared cameras and scrambler radios. I know that such items cost a great deal of money but that money must be provided.
Funding must be made available to the national drugs team. I understand there is a proposal to provide them with three high powered sea going vessels and surveillance equipment at a cost of £13 million. These are considered to be necessary and must be provided; and in addition the necessary backup must be provided by the Navy and the Air Corps from the point of view of ships, helicopters and planes for surveillance. Again if a large sum of money is involved and there is an EC dimension, there is a case for EC support.
A coast watch service should be established. This service would be the eyes and ears of the Garda Síochána and the Customs service. There is every reason to seek EC support for such a coast watch service, which again would have a European dimension. Apart from tracking down drug smugglers, it would also have a role in assisting in search and rescue operations.
Above all, there needs to be a development of public awareness about the extent of the problem and the absolute need to pass on information about suspicious activity to the Garda Síochána. Essentially every person has a role to play. The locals in any area have a much better knowledge of their own coastline. Tourists have time on their hands. All should be encouraged to play their part in combatting this growing evil. Furthermore, we want to put the drug godfathers behind bars. Evidence is necessary to secure convictions. Anybody with a scintilla of such evidence has a patriotic duty to take it to the authorities.
Drug smuggling appears to be rampant along our coastline today. The coves and bays on the coastline of south-west Cork and south Kerry are ideal locations for that purpose. The automation of our lighthouses played into the hands of the smugglers. Nothing could replace the human eye as far as deterring such crimes is concerned. Gardaí and Customs officials must be congratulated for the manner in which they are handling the situation. What is needed in this country is a coastguard cutter service which should be provided through EC funding so that our waters can be guarded. In fact, I would impress on the Minister the necessity to call in our Navy, pending the provision of such a coastguard cutter service, to counteract the serious situation that appertains along the entire coastline of Ireland.
First, I want to congratulate the men and women of an Garda Síochána and the officers of the Customs and Excise service for their excellent surveillance work and co-operation which resulted in last weekend's significant seizure of cannabis resin in west Cork. I am very much aware that this haul and other recent hauls in this region were the culmination of a joint Garda and customs exercise and the pooling of information and intelligence. While the operation was very successful in terms of the amount of drugs seized and all concerned deserve our special congratulations, I would like to avail of this opportunity to express my wish that Garda Murnane, who was unfortunately injured during the haul, will shortly be restored to full health.
The main drug of abuse in this country is cannabis resin, which accounts for about 75 per cent of all seizures of drugs. Importation of cannabis resin to Ireland usually comes in consignments in the region of 100kg, which have been detected by the enforcement agencies on car ferries from mainland Europe. The indications are that the majority of these drugs are for consumption on the home market. Notwithstanding the size of some recent seizures, I am satisfied, as are the Garda authorities, that Ireland is not an international drug trafficking route. The amounts of heroin, cocaine, and ecstasy imported are small by international standards and are invariably for consumption on the Irish market.
The Garda authorities have informed me that the south west coastline has received special attention in recent years regarding the illegal importation of cannabis resin. This coastline is very long, with many remote piers, coves and other secluded areas. There is a strong emphasis in both the Cork west and Kerry Garda Divisions on the problem of drug trafficking and gardaí in both divisions have in recent years received training in various aspects of drug law enforcement.
The allocation of man and woman power and other resources to specialist units such as drug enforcement is of course a matter for the Garda authorities. They have informed me that they are satisfied that the resources available to them and the strategies being adopted by them are effective in dealing with the problem. In 1992 the drug squad based at Anglesea Street, Cork, was increased substantially to its present strength of 17. This unit is responsible for drug law enforcement in Cork. In addition, as the necessity arises, the Crime Task Force based at Anglesea Street is deployed to areas with particular drug related problems.
In Cork west every Garda district has adequately trained personnel to deal with drug related law enforcement and, as the occasion demands, an inspector based at Bandon utilises specifically trained gardaí in certain operations. The situation will, however, be kept under continuous review. I can assure the House that the Garda have the Government's full support in their efforts to deal with this problem.
The success of the Garda drug squad in Cork can be measured by the fact that in 1990 there were 391 drug seizures which resulted in 351 persons being charged. These figures had increased to 450 seizures in 1991 while the number of persons charged rose to 409. This is a significant indication of the success of the enforcement agencies in the Cork area.
It is of course very important to ensure that illicit drugs cannot be easily smuggled into this country and for this reason the Garda maintain a high level of ongoing liaison with Interpol and with police and customs authorities throughout Europe. This co-operation is vital to effective action against drug trafficking and has been instrumental in many successful and important seizures in the south west of the country and elsewhere.
The implications for policing arising from the abolition of customs controls on 1 January 1993 have been under examination for sometime. EC Ministers of the Interior and Justice in agreeing to set up the Trevi Group in 1975 affirmed their common will to strengthen co-operation in the fight against organised international crime and terrorism. At a meeting of Trevi Ministers in Copenhagen last week I, together with Ministers from the 11 other EC member states, signed an agreement to enable the first phase of Europol — the Europol Drugs Unit — to be established. This unit will be of great practical benefit in combatting the international trafficking of drugs.
Work on measures to combat drug trafficking at European level is also being undertaken by the Mutual Assistance Group (MAG), the EC wide customs group. There is close co-operation and co-ordination between Trevi and the Mutual Assistance Group in order to ensure that there is no overlap in the work being done by the two groups.
Drug law enforcement efforts in this country are co-ordinated by the Garda National Drug Administration Office, which was set up in 1990 and which is located in Garda Headquarters. The Revenue Commissioners have also recently established a National Drugs Team with more than 70 staff consisting of intelligence units, maritime units and sniffer dogs units, which will be strategically based at import and export points throughout the country, including Cork. To complete the task of the Revenue Commissioners in relation to tackling illegal drugs trafficking more effectively, the Minister for Finance is also pursuing with the European Commission the possibility of obtaining Community funding in order to enhance the existing Customs infrastructural resources allocated to the prevention of drugs smuggling through our ports, airports and land and sea borders. The Garda authorities have assured me that these inter-agency liaison arrangements are a practical and effective way of dealing with drug-related crime here.
I hope I have made it abundantly clear that everything possible is being done to ensure that the problem of drug trafficking on the South West Coast and elsewhere in this country is being tackled effectively.