Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 25 Nov 1993

Vol. 436 No. 3

Adjournment Debate. - Kinsale (Cork) Drugs Haul.

Mr. J. O'Keeffe

There have been further huge drug seizures off Kinsale during the past 24 hours. The value of the seizure is estimated at £3 million, and is rising. This confirms that the seas off our shores are now a highway for drug smugglers and that the south west coast is a drugs gateway for Europe. The hundreds of miles of rugged coastline in south west Cork and Kerry have become a honey pot for the racketeers in the drugs industry. In recent times well known tourist resorts such as Schull, Court-macsherry, Roscarbery, Fenit and Kinsale have attracted notoriety as locations for substantial landings of drugs.

The latest finds bring to well over £30 million the value of the drugs seized this year. This is only the tip of the iceberg. It is now clear that vast quantities of drugs are getting through to their illegal markets. An emergency drugs plan has to be formulated by the Government to stem the tide, so to speak, in this area. Such a plan must be backed by an adequate legal framework, sufficient resources and adequate manpower to monitor movements off our coastline. If one takes into account all the rugged coves and inlets which provide so much pleasure for tourists and local communities, our existing State services, the Garda, customs and excise officers and the Navy, are attempting to police a coastline of 1,970 miles. These coves and inlets provide a huge number of landing places for unwelcome visitors bringing illegal drugs to this country.

I ask the Minister to give a full and comprehensive report on the circumstances relating to the latest drugs finds off Kinsale and the immediate follow up action which needs to be taken. I want an assurance that an emergency plan will be put in place without delay. I wish to put a number of proposals to the Minister for urgent consideration and action. First, an auxiliary coast watch service should be established to support the efforts of the Garda Síochána, customs and excise officers and the Navy. These coastguards would be able to monitor the situation on the ground and pass on vital information in good time to allow not only drugs to be seized but drug pushers to be captured.

Second, the resources and equipment of the Garda Síochána, customs and excise officers and the Navy must be strengthened and improved. It is relevant to point out that over the past six to seven years Garda Síochána numbers dropped by almost 1,000. Top class modern equipment, as good as, if not better than, that used by drug smugglers, must be made available to the Garda, to customs and excise officers and the Navy. I am talking about equipment such as high powered binoculars, infra-red cameras, scrambler radios, etc. Such equipment is not available to the extent necessary at present but money must be found to make it available.

Third, a year ago we discussed a proposal to provide high powered seagoing vessels and surveillance equipment at a cost of £13 million. Why have these not been provided? Clearly there is a case for support from the European Union to pay towards the cost of cutting off the access point for drugs destined for the European continent.

Fourth, a further important aspect must be considered. There has been virtually no recruitment in the Defence Forces over the past number of years. The strength of the Navy is now at a critically low level and it is essential to provide the manpower to enable the existing fleet to be fully operational and, of course, to provide personnel for the new vessels if and when they arrive.

Finally I understand that a Bill will be introduced later this week to permit the confiscation of illegal assets. I welcome this long overdue move but further legal measures will be necessary in this area because I assume there must be convictions before assets can be confiscated. We must not forget that some of the main European racketeers have been living openly in Ireland and it has not been possible to bring them to trial because of lack of evidence and other reasons. I accept that substantial sums of money are needed to fund my proposals but the Government has a compelling case with which to approach our European colleagues for the moneys required.

It is time we declared war on drug smugglers. Whatever is necessary to ensure that these drugs are seized before they reach the streets must be done. We must capture the godfathers of crime and put them behind bars.

In regard to the enormous value of the drugs involved, the Government has a great responsibility. I am now demanding that this responsibility be discharged and, in particular, that adequate resources be made available to pursue the war on drug smugglers.

Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht (Mr. M. Higgins)

I am grateful to the Deputy for raising this important matter which enables me to reply on behalf of the Minister for Finance, Deputy Ahern.

At 11.30 p.m. on 2 November 1993, the French fishing vessel Marie Catherine discovered two bales of suspected cannabis resin in her nets whilst fishing outside Irish territorial waters. She subsequently contacted the French customs authorities and was informed to proceed to Cork Harbour and present the find to the Irish customs authorities. The head office of the Customs National Drugs Team was informed by the customs attaché at the French Embassy in London of the impending arrival of a fishing vessel with a quantity of suspected cannabis. As the fishing vessel did not possess maritime charts of Cork Harbour, arrangements were made for the vessel to put into Kinsale. On arrival in Kinsale, 41 packages containing approximately 45 kilos of cannabis resin were produced to members of the local Customs National Drugs Team.

The Customs National Drugs Team immediately mounted an operation to search the location of this particular find. The Marie Catherine was contracted by customs to continue its trawl of the search location. The Irish naval service is working conjointly with customs in this operation and three customs officers were taken on board the LE Deirdre to direct the operation from the search location. One of these officers has since gone on board the French fishing trawler. So far, the trawl has recovered a further 11 bales which have been taken on board the naval vessel bringing the total find to approximately 315 kilos of cannibis resin with an estimated street value of IR£3.15 million. The search is continuing.

Following the abolition of systematic checks at internal Community frontiers since 1 January last, the Irish customs service has greater responsibility for protecting not only Ireland, but the European Union as a whole — and in this matter I agree with the Deputy — against drugs smuggling from third countries. It is vital, in these circumstances, to ensure that Ireland is not used as a "back door" for smuggling drugs from outside the European Union into this country or into other members states.

Customs services are the first line of defence against the illegal importation of controlled drugs. Customs staff are strategically placed at ports, airports and in the vicinity of land and sea borders to intercept illicit imports of drugs. In the import/export area, customs has the necessary expertise, trade and international contacts and legal powers to make a significant impact in the fight against drug smuggling.

In Ireland, there has been a reorganisation of our customs service for this purpose, including the setting up in November 1992 of a new National Customs Drugs Team comprising 74 staff, and consisting of intelligence, operational maritime and dog units, strategically based at coastal locations throughout the country. The team's main functions are to collect, analyse and disseminate information on sensitive goods, primarily in the drugs area, to operational teams and to examine suspect baggage and freight and search vehicles, ships, yachts, private aircraft, etc. to prevent drug smuggling. The team is fully trained and equipped, employing the most modern means of communications as well as having access to aerial and sea surveillance.

The team has already had some notable success. The street value of Customs drugs seizures exceeded £11 million in 1992. Since the Single Market was completed on 1 January 1993, over 665 kilos of illegal drugs valued at some £6.85 million were seized by Irish customs in a total of 69 seizures. Significant seizures of cannabis resin so far this year have included 65 kilos at Rosslare Harbour, County Wexford in January and 27 kilos at the same location in March; 150 kilos at Roscarbery, County Cork in May; 110 kilos a Skibbereen, County Cork in June and the large Garda seizure made with the assistance of Customs intelligence of two tonnes at Fenit, County Kerry in July.

To this impressive list can now be added the current cannabis seizure of 315 kilos at Kinsale. In regard to co-operation between the various Government agencies in the fight against drug smuggling, there continues to be close co-operation between Customs, the Garda, the Naval Service and the Air Corps and various Government Departments concerned, as the huge seizure in Fenit that I just mentioned bears witness to. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all the dedicated people involved from the various Government agencies who work diligently, and sometimes at considerable physical risk, to keep our shores free of the drugs smuggling menace.

The completion of the Single Market has underlined the importance of maintaining and intensifying co-operation both within and outside the European Union to ensure a constant flow of intelligence about suspect movements. There is already a high degree of co-operation between the customs services of the European Union member states to combat drug smuggling. Such co-operation has proved very effective and, indeed, played an important role in many drug detections, including one of the largest seizures of drugs by customs in this country — over 700 kilos of cannabis resin in Cork in 1991 — as well as the current seizure. Customs co-operation with other member states in the field of drugs falls within the area of intergovernmental co-operation which has, up to now, been dealt with outside Community structures. Under the new arrangements governed by the Treaty on European Union, this co-operation will, for the most part, be brought formally within the ambit of the European Council which will have general responsibility for ensuring the highest degree of co-operation on a Community-wide basis in the fight against drugs.

Heads of EC customs services have undertaken a number of initiatives to improve co-operation between the member states and build up the necessary resources both in terms of technical equipment and personnel, to combat the drug traffickers. In this regard, a new EC Customs Information System — a computerised communications system designed to disseminate information rapidly between all European Union customs services — is in place which allows customs officers throughout the European Union to communicate quickly and effectively in identifying and controlling suspect movements of persons and freight consignments, etc. This communications system should make a significant contribution towards combating drugs smuggling and improving the effectiveness of customs controls.

I have noted the points made by the Deputy and share his concern. All reasonable proposals for the extension of the service will be considered by my colleague, the Minister for Finance. I wish to inform the House that two additional rigid inflatable boats will be introduced to the service before Christmas and the crews are currently being trained. This has been made possible by the use of European Community funding.