This is a simple question. Page 98 of the programme for Government outlines that there will be a review of Garda districts. When will the review start, what will be its timeframe and when is it expected to conclude?
Topical Issue Debate
Garda Districts
On behalf of the Tánaiste, who cannot be here today, I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter.
The Government has, in its programme for a partnership Government, recognised community policing as the embodiment of An Garda Siochána, providing a means of recognising that every community, both urban and rural, has its own concerns and expectations. It commits the Government to ensuring visible, effective and responsive policing in every community, including the most minimal response times possible. In support of this objective, the Tánaiste has asked the Policing Authority to oversee a review of, among other things, both the boundaries of Garda districts and the dispersal of Garda stations in rural areas.
I understand that the authority has, in accordance with section 117(2) of the Garda Siochána Act 2005, formally requested the Garda Síochána Inspectorate to examine the dispersal and use of resources available to the Garda Siochána in the delivery of policing services to local communities and to make recommendations to provide a more effective, visible and responsive policing service. The authority has informed the inspectorate that the review should take account of the changing environments in rural, developing urban and suburban areas, the views of local communities, the allocation and deployment of Garda resources at the local policing level, including the use of the Garda Reserve, Garda facilities and Garda equipment as well as relevant recommendations made in previous inspectorate reports. The Tánaiste looks forward to receiving the review from the authority and I am informed that it should be available within 12 months.
Separately, the programme also commits the Government to launching a pilot scheme to reopen six Garda stations, both urban and rural, to determine possible positive impacts that such openings could have on criminal activity, with special emphasis on burglaries, theft and public order. Accordingly, the Tánaiste has requested the Garda Commissioner, while fully cognisant of her statutory functions in relation to the distribution of Garda resources in the State, to identify six stations for reopening.
The Government’s overarching commitment is to ensure a strong and visible police presence throughout the country in order to maintain and strengthen community engagement, provide reassurance to citizens and deter crime. In furtherance of this, the Tánaiste recently announced that the Government has approved her proposal for an overall Garda workforce of 21,000 personnel by 2021, comprising 15,000 Garda members, 2,000 Garda Reserve members and 4,000 civilians. In 2017, funding has been provided for the recruitment of 800 Garda recruits and up to 500 civilians to support the wide ranging reform plan in train in An Garda Síochána. Appointments will also be made to the Garda Reserve of approximately 300. In addition, the Government’s capital plan 2016-2021 provides €205 million for investment in Garda information and communications technology, ICT, infrastructure and some €46 million for investment in the Garda fleet.
Taken together, the Garda Authority’s review in conjunction with the above measures, reinforce the Government’s commitment to enabling significant reform in An Garda Síochána and to providing a high profile and visible policing service for our communities.
I thank the Minister for State for the reply, which indicates that within 12 months the review will be completed, including the review of Garda boundaries.
I wish to put on the record my strongly held view that the decision by Assistant Garda Commissioner Jack Nolan, who was then based in the south east, to merge two districts was a terrible one. It was the worst decision on the policing of the south east at that time and to date. Two districts, Enniscorthy and Gorey, were merged into a single Garda district which has a population base of 85,000. It is bigger than seven or eight counties in the country. In that one district there is only one superintendent and two inspectors.
I want to put the negative impact of the decision on the area into context. I was informed that three new inspectors would be appointed for the three Garda districts in County Wexford, namely Wexford, New Ross and Enniscorthy. The latter comprises the two aforementioned merged districts. I did not jump for joy at this news because the population of the Enniscorthy district is equivalent to the population of the two other districts. The other two districts got one inspector each but Enniscorthy only got one new inspector, even though it has a population of 85,000.
I repeat that it was a terrible, if not ludicrous, decision. At one stage, there was talk of removing the civilian staff, the sergeants and the inspector from the district but thankfully that did not happen. The staff remained and Enniscorthy district now has four civilian staff, sergeants and an inspector. I want the Gorey district to be reinstated as a full policing district. It is one of the fastest growing districts in the country. To do what was done by the Assistant Garda Commissioner, Jack Nolan and the then Garda Commissioner, Martin Callinan, was reckless. I want that decision reversed.
The Minister of State has said that we will have a decision within a year and I look forward to that.
Once again, on behalf of the Tánaiste, I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter in the House. As I mentioned, the Policing Authority has, in accordance with section 117(2) of the Garda Siochána Act 2005, formally requested the Garda Siochána Inspectorate to examine the dispersal and use of resources available to the Garda Siochána in the delivery of policing services to local communities and to make recommendations to provide a more effective, visible and responsive policing service. As Deputy D'Arcy knows, the Garda Síochána is very professional in the carrying out of its business. In addition, the Tánaiste has asked the Garda Commissioner to identify for reopening six Garda stations that were closed under the district and station rationalisation scheme. Work is underway on both of these initiatives and the Tánaiste looks forward, with interest, to their completion.
In the meantime, the Government is fully committed, in line with the programme for Government, to ensuring visible, effective and responsive policing of every community, including the most minimal response times possible. I am sure that note will be taken of the Deputy's comments this evening. This commitment is underscored by the Government's accelerated recruitment programme and the ongoing major investment in the Garda fleet and the ICT infrastructure of An Garda Síochána, which will facilitate the provision of high-visibility and mobile policing services to communities. Taken together with the ongoing Garda modernisation and renewal programme, these measures will better equip An Garda Síochána and facilitate the provision of a 21st century policing service that fully meets the expectations of our communities.
Once again, I thank the Deputy for raising this matter and assure him that I will convey his views to the Tánaiste.
Ambulance Service Accommodation
I thank the Ceann Comhairle's office for allowing me to raise this issue today.
I raised this matter in February 2012 when, at that time, there was great fear and worry on the part of staff and the general public in the Edenderry, north Offaly, Kildare, Meath and Westmeath areas regarding the ambulance service. The worry centred on the working conditions associated with the ambulance facility which was housed at that time on the grounds of Ofalia House, a HSE community care facility for the elderly and the sick in Edenderry. Despite the fears and worries the interested parties worked to the best of their ability over time but earlier this year HIQA announced that the facility could no longer be used for that purpose. The ambulance service was forced to relocate to Tullamore on the understanding that the relevant works would be carried out at the Ofalia House facility and the service would return to Edenderry within three months.
Thankfully, on foot of concerns raised by me, many other public representatives and the public, the HSE located a site which is close to the fire station in Edenderry and planning permission for a new ambulance facility was granted earlier this year. After the relocation to Tullamore, there was a fear on the part of staff and people living in the locality that if temporary accommodation was made available within three months, the commitment to provide a new, purpose-built facility might not be honoured. All of the public representatives in the area took up the case, including the Deputy opposite, Deputy Marcella Corcoran Kennedy, I am glad to say. We sought assurances from the National Ambulance Service and the HSE that the new facility would be forthcoming in order to be able to reassure the public and the staff. We have received various items of correspondence, including from the assistant chief ambulance officer of the HSE to myself in response to a Parliamentary Question submitted at the end of October and from Mr. Martin Dunne, the director of the National Ambulance Service, to myself, local Deputies and councillors. A meeting was held with local public representatives six weeks ago, at which more detailed information was provided. At that meeting, Deputy Marcella Corcoran Kennedy, who is a Minister of State in the Department of Health, confirmed what was contained in the briefing documentation.
The confirmation was that not only would temporary accommodation be forthcoming in the near future because a site had been identified, as was detailed through some of the correspondence that was made available to us, but more importantly, a firm commitment was given that action would be taken on foot of the granting of planning permission for a new purpose-built facility.
I am taking the opportunity to raise this issue by means of a Topical Issue so that the public can be assured once and for all that given the commitments of the HSE and the National Ambulance Service and the fact planning permission has been forthcoming and a site for temporary accommodation has been identified, that this will be forthcoming and made available and that we can get a commitment that the new facility will start construction in the very near future. If a date was forthcoming, it would allay everybody's fears and allow people to get on with their work. In respect of the locality and community of north Offaly, west Kildare, south-east Westmeath and part of Meath and its close proximity to the N4, it is of pivotal importance in respect of responses to emergencies as they arise. I am glad the Minister of State with responsibility in the Department of Health is here so she can assure the House and, by extension, those we represent that this will be resolved forthwith.
As somebody who is as anxious as Deputy Cowen in respect of the retention of the ambulance service in Edenderry, I thank him for raising this important matter. It is a good opportunity to brief the House on this matter. Since 2006, the National Ambulance Service, NAS, has operated a service from Ofalia House, a HSE care facility in the Edenderry area. This service was most welcome when it was established ten years ago. However, the HIQA review pointed to the need for some internal reconfiguration works in Ofalia House to ensure compliance with best practice. A fund of around €2 million was provided by the previous Government to carry out those refurbishment works. Works commenced in April 2016 but because of health and safety requirements, the NAS had no option but to vacate the premises. As one who visited it and saw where the service was trying to operate out of when there was a building site around it, I could understand the decision to put the safety and health of the people who work in the ambulance service to the forefront.
While the original intention had been for the NAS to return to Ofalia House on completion of the building works, as we now know, a major part of the facility previously used by the NAS is no longer available due to the requirement for hospice beds within Ofalia House. It, therefore, became necessary to relocate the ambulance service to Tullamore. I acknowledge the excellent service provided by the people based in Edenderry and the fact they co-operated and were so willing to understand what was going on and, at the same time, were anxious to get back to base. As the Deputy is aware, it is proposed to build a new ambulance station in Edenderry. A site has been identified and planning approval has been received. I understand that pending the development of the new station, the NAS, in conjunction with HSE Estates, is actively seeking temporary accommodation for the service in the Edenderry area so that it can resume from Edenderry as soon as possible while clarifying that it is still providing a service while it is based in Tullamore.
Of course, we are all aware that the NAS has undergone a very significant process of modernisation in recent years and a number of important service innovations and developments have taken place. The national emergency operations centre has been established while improved technology has been provided to improve response times. We have developed the intermediate care service to provide lower acuity hospital transfers, which frees up emergency ambulances for the more urgent calls. The establishment of a permanent emergency aeromedical support service to provide a more timely response to persons in rural areas has also been a welcome development. All of us, including Deputy Cowen, know people who have had their lives saved because of that aeromedical support service.
We are also looking at alternatives to the current model of care, which requires every patient to be brought to an emergency department. The options under consideration include "hear and treat" where clinical advice is provided over the phone to callers who can then, if appropriate, be referred to other care pathways. We have evidence that people's lives have been saved by using the "hear and treat" methodology. I am advised that a recruitment process is under way for the necessary staff to facilitate the roll out of a pilot "hear and treat" model of care.
This ambulance reform programme is taking place against the backdrop of the HIQA review of ambulance services, which was published in late 2014, and the NAS capacity review, which was published earlier this year. The capacity review examined overall ambulance resource levels and distribution against demand and activity. Implementation of the recommendations of the capacity review will require a multi-annual programme of phased investment in ambulance manpower, vehicles and technology. In that regard, the Deputy can be assured that increased funding will be available to the NAS for 2017. The detail of the improvements to be funded will be provided in the HSE's 2017 national service plan. My officials are working closely with their counterparts in the HSE and the NAS to agree priorities in relation to the 2017 allocation.
I thank the Minister of State for her response. She rightly acknowledges that planning permission was sought by the HSE on behalf of the NAS to provide for and put in place a new facility in Edenderry and that it has been granted. She went on to mention that a national emergency operations centre has been set up and that HIQA reviews in 2014 and earlier this year talk about a capacity review and various pilots schemes to seek to have that brought into force and a broader roll out depending on its success.
That is all well and good, and I wish the Minister of State well with that, but I will return to the nub of this issue. A commitment was given, permission was sought and granted and the public, local representatives and I were assured that this will be acted on. I just need the Minister of State to clarify that this will proceed and that this has not been moved sideways or backwards because of the various reviews, the new national emergency operations centre and the capacity review that is being undertaken to see what pilot schemes will bring about the potential for permanent facilities at various locations. I am interested in resolving the issue relating to Edenderry and the greater north Offaly area and adjoining counties, which it serves. I need affirmation and confirmation that having gone to the trouble of getting planning permission and giving a commitment to the locality and its representatives, including the Minister of State and myself, there is no question of that commitment being lost. We need it to be confirmed in the House so that we can assure those people and everybody concerned that this facility will be in place and that commencement will take place this year based on the commitments given to us.
As Deputy Cowen will recall, the Edenderry district convened a meeting with all of the Oireachtas Members and local councillors recently. Due to the considerations and concerns mooted by everybody, I proposed that we would arrange a meeting with the HSE, because it is delivering the service and not the Department, senior management in the ambulance service and the Minister for Health to provide those reassurances and clarity, which we all require, to ensure people at local level were confident that the HSE was determined to push ahead with the service and the facility the town of Edenderry and the wider area so clearly deserve and expect to have. I can confirm to the Deputy that we will have that meeting. A date has been proposed and everybody will be invited to the meeting. It will be a great opportunity for us to further probe the HSE on this. I feel confident that there will not be an issue but at the same time, it is a project that is being developed by the HSE which will be accountable for what it has done to date and what it plans to do in the future. I am looking forward to having that meeting and inviting Deputy Cowen and all the other public representatives who require clarity, as do I. It is welcome that we will have the opportunity to do it.
I again thank the Deputy for raising the issue about which we are all very concerned.
Counselling Services Provision
The demand for counselling in primary care, CIPC, is steadily growing. The number of referrals increased from 14,407 in 2014 to 17,000 in 2015. Waiting lists for access to a first appointment are long and growing. A total of 2,496 people were waiting for counselling at the end of the first quarter of 2016. Of these, 45%, or 1,119 people, were waiting for between four and 12 weeks; 21%, or 520 people, were waiting for between 12 and 24 weeks; and 5%, or 139 people, were waiting over 24 weeks. In the improving access to psychological therapies, IAPT, service in the United Kingdom, the target is that 75% of referrals be seen within just six weeks and 95% within 18 weeks. These waiting times for those in need of emotional and mental support at very difficult and troubled times in their lives are not acceptable. A long wait for counselling is not just a possibility; it is the norm. Over 26% of people waited at least a quarter of a year for their first appointment. Who knows what people in a vulnerable state may go through in this time? How many on the lists engaged in self-harm or self-harming behaviour, made an attempt on their life, or sought emergency support which, of course, was found wanting.
Even when people gain access to the CIPC model, they are only offered eight sessions. That may well be enough for some, but it is far too little for many. Mental Health Reform, which has been to the fore in raising this issue, has called for an expansion of the number to 20 sessions, as in the United Kingdom. The Minister of State must also work to expand the CIPC service to be available not just to medical card holders but also to people on low incomes who are above the medical card threshold. Far too many people on low incomes forgo needed counselling because they cannot afford it. This in the end has untold costs.
The CIPC service is only available to adults. This is a major gap, given the clear potential for positive outcomes from counselling for younger people who are particularly at risk and poorly placed to afford such counselling. Jigsaw and other programmes do good work, but they could and should be supplemented when needed, particularly when we know that child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, remain understaffed in most cases based on a recent HSE report.
A major concern for people who wish to see an improvement in this and other mental health services is the failure by the Government to live up to previous pronouncements on budget increases for these services. The Government has now promised to increase the mental health budget by just 1.8% or €15 million in 2017 - less than half what it claimed on budget day. Will the Minister of State commit to reviewing this funding level which is clearly inadequate to address growing demand and the need to improve services generally to implement A Vision for Change? This €15 million is simply not enough and feels like a box-ticking exercise by a Government that, having promised an increase, felt obliged to provide the crumbs off the table but dressed them up as something better when the media were watching.
I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. We all agree that there has been a change in the mental health services and that change needs to continue towards a more preventive and community-based model. It should not commence when a mental illness becomes too difficult; we need to protect people's mental health in the very early stages.
A commitment was given to improve access to psychological therapy and early counselling therapies. Following on a commitment in the 2011 programme for Government, the HSE counselling in primary care, CIPC, service was established and formally launched in July 2013. The primary task of the CIPC service is to provide accessible short-term counselling for adults on low incomes who hold a medical card and present with mild-moderate psychological difficulties in a primary care context.
The service is overseen and managed within the framework of the HSE national counselling service, NCS, and provided in each community health organisation, CHO. Each director of counselling within the NCS is responsible for the overall clinical governance framework for the CIPC service in their area. It is co-ordinated on a day-to-day basis in each area by one or more counselling co-ordinators. There are ten counselling co-ordinators in the CIPC service which sources suitably qualified counsellors on a sessional basis to provide for the needs of individuals using these services.
The Deputy mentioned some of the figures. It is important to go through them because obviously the figures have increased. There has been a growing demand for the CIPC service and consistent growth in the level of service provision. The referral rate increased from 14,407 referrals nationally in its first year to 17,000 in 2015, an 18% increase. In the first quarter of 2016 alone there were in excess of 4,500 referrals nationally to the CIPC service.
Since its launch the CIPC service has offered in excess of 128,000 counselling sessions, with 42,000 offered in 2014 and over 65,000 in 2015, a 50% increase on the figure for 2014. Some 6,000 counselling sessions are being offered every month by the CIPC service. If it continues at this level, it will represent a 12% increase on the figure for 2015. The number of referrals is increasing, as is the number of counselling sessions.
In keeping with its primary task of providing accessible short-term counselling for adults in order to facilitate timely intervention with psychological difficulties, the majority of clients are seen within three months of referral, as evidenced by a breakdown of waiting times at the end of March 2016. Of the 2,496 clients waiting for counselling nationally at the end of the first quarter of 2016, 718 were seen within the first month. A total of 1,119 were waiting between one and three months. I agree that we need to get that figure down to or as close to one month as we can. We also need to reduce the figure of 520 clients who were waiting between three and six months. Analysis of the 139 clients waiting over six months indicated that the majority of this group had specific requirements such as limited client availability to attend counselling.
The Deputy expressed concern about young people's ability to access the CIPC service. As part of the programme for Government investment in 2016, €5 million has been allocated to primary care services to provide counselling and psychological supports for children under 18 years. Additional initiatives to enhance early intervention and prevention services include embedding the existing Jigsaw services and the planned addition of five more youth mental health services - two in Cork, two in Dublin and one in Limerick.
I thank the Minister of State for her reply. She accepts that there is a significant and growing demand for the CIPC service. We have had numerous discussions in the House about mental health and it keeps coming back to the same thing. We know that there is increased demand for the CIPC service. Why can we not fund it properly? The Government had promised to spend approximately €30 million on mental health services and now we are talking about €15 million. We know that there is a demand for 24/7 crisis intervention centres. We also know that there is a huge issue with understaffing in the CAMHS. The mental health budget has to be increased. I, therefore, ask the Minister of State to look at the issue again. I cannot overemphasise that not enough money has been invested in mental health services and people will suffer as a result.
We need to look at the funding increase in the mental health section within the Department of Health. Between 2011 and 2016 an additional €115 million was allocated at a time when the budget of every other section within the Department of Health was cut. There has been a focus on mental health and increasing the funding available for mental health services. In previous years we found that when funding was allocated, it was not spent. There has been an increase of almost 24,000 in the service plan for this year, with an additional €50 million for the national forensic mental hospital, which is very much part of implementing A Vision for Change.
This will allow us to outline the service plan which we are currently in the process of doing. The further development of counselling supports for those with mental illnesses for people over and under the age of 18 will form part of that plan. Our priority, and my priority, is to set out €35 million worth of projects that can be planned in a way that every single penny of the €35 million will be spent. The last thing I want is to stand here in one year and say we have not been able to spend all of our funding or that all of the allocated funding has not been spent. We are initiating €35 million worth of new development and new projects. Some €15 million of that will be spent next year. Almost an additional €10 million will be spent in increasing our staffing resources. This additional €10 million will go in to staffing wages which is an integral part of improving our services. If we do not pay our staff, if we do not retain our staff and if we do not attract new staff to the service then we will never reach those figures the Deputy speaks about. We need to continue to increase our funding, we need to continue to invest but we also need to plan and make sure we spend the money we say we will spend.
Customs and Excise Controls
I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this matter, which seeks to highlight the need for Revenue to increase its presence at the ports and airports in the west, with the aim of tackling drug importation networks in this State.
This is an issue of national importance as drug smugglers and international drug gangs continue to wreak havoc in the State on a daily basis. It is an important issue for the people living in the west who are on the front line of this importation battle between the smugglers and Irish officials. It is very important for the Garda and Revenue officials in the north west. They have expressed to me their deep concerns with regard to the lack of drug surveillance operations at our ports and airports.
The Minister of State, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, will be aware that we got very lucky last month when a consignment of cocaine worth some €5 million washed ashore on a beach in County Clare. This consignment had become detached from a boat at sea and eventually washed ashore in Ireland. We do not know where the drugs were destined for and we do not know where they came from. All we know is that 75 kilos of cocaine washed ashore for the public to discover and that our customs officials with dedicated customs cutter boats were not aware of this consignment before it became detached. This particular incident has raised once more my deep concerns which I have raised with the Department of Finance and with Revenue on several occasions around the west coast of Ireland being used as a drug importation channel by drug cartels. Revenue and the Government are not on top of this worrying situation and I firmly believe that illegal and dangerous drugs are coming into Ireland illegally via the west coast. In a reply to the Taoiseach in October 2013, Liam Irwin said Revenue attaches the highest priority to combatting the smuggling of controlled drugs and that it is committed to playing an active role in working against this criminal activity and those responsible for it. While I accept that this sentiment is the true intent of Revenue in this regard and that lack of resources is the reason why Revenue may not be on top of the situation, I wish to highlight some major issues why we are not reaching the aims of this intent in the west.
With regard to sea access in the west, I am advised that the Revenue fleet of operational cutter boats is not sufficient to cover surveillance and interception operations for the entire west coast. It is clear to see that Revenue simply needs to prioritise more funding in order to purchase more boats and for more customs personnel to increase our operations in this area. I am further advised that the Killybegs deep water port in County Donegal has no Revenue drug detection personnel in operation. This is despite the fact that boats of any shape or size can arrive and leave this port at any time of the day. Perhaps the Minister of State will explain why this is the case. It seems odd that such an important port would have no drugs customs officers based there. With regard to airports in the west, and Knock Airport in particular, I am advised that there is now no dedicated drug detector dog based at Knock airport or in the midlands west region since March 2016 when the previous dog died. Will the Minister of State provide details as to when this dog will be replaced and what is the overall cost involved?
I also want to highlight that there is no permanent Revenue drug detection staff at Ireland West Airport Knock. This is despite the fact that more than 800,000 passengers will use the airport in 2016.
I thank the Deputy.
I have further been advised that no data on the private aircraft which enter and leave Knock airport is being kept and that there is no customs checks on these flights. This is a scary reality given the incidents in the past involving private flights carrying drugs into Ireland. This is something which needs to be looked at going forward. The public is in danger from these drugs gangs and the effects of their products on society.
I invite the Minister of State to respond. He might get that dog back.
I thank the Ceann Comhairle, and I thank Deputy Tony McLoughlin for raising this important matter. The Deputy's commitment in this area is long-standing and well known. The deployment of Revenue staff is a matter for the Revenue Commissioners. I am advised by Revenue that they use a broad range of data, intelligence and analytical technologies to identify and evaluate risk. Insights and intelligence are increasingly important in directing Revenue’s attention to and response to risk including action to confront suspected non-compliance. Compliance and enforcement resources are deployed within regions and districts on a risk priority basis and are designed to maximise effective outcomes having regard to the risk being targeted. Revenue has significant numbers of its staff deployed countrywide engaged on activities that are dedicated to targeting and confronting non-compliance. These activities include anti-smuggling and anti-evasion, investigation and prosecution, audit, assurance checks, anti-avoidance, returns compliance and debt collection. More than 860 Revenue staff are currently serving in Revenue’s Border, midlands and west regions.
Revenue's intervention and control role at points of importation and exportation is carried out by officers engaged on enforcement duties and are responsible for the implementation of customs controls. Revenue has an enforcement presence, as required by reference to risk, at all key airports and ports and at other strategic locations throughout the State. As previously alluded to, it places particular emphasis on developing an intelligence based focus at both national and regional level, deploying resources to areas of highest risk. Enforcement strength at particular locations is augmented, as necessary, with additional personnel on a risk assessment basis, or when particular operations are taking place focused on illegal activity.
I am satisfied that compliance and smuggling risks are properly evaluated and addressed, and resources appropriately allocated by Revenue. I am also assured that Revenue keeps the matter of risk assessment and resource allocations under regular review. I am advised by Revenue that, as part of its risk focused approach to the discharge of its role in relation to illegal drugs importations, harbours and inlets along the coastline are monitored and evaluated on an ongoing basis from the point of view of the potential for smuggling. This work is supplemented by Revenue’s customs drugs watch programme, aimed at encouraging members of the public, coastal and local maritime communities etc. to notify Revenue in confidence of suspect or unusual movements at sea or around the coast through a confidential 24-7 drugs watch freephone facility. This is a highly valued and successful programme, as evidenced recently by the seizure of a large quantity of drugs near Liscannor, County Clare following a report through the drugs watch programme.
I will turn to Revenue’s role in protecting society from the importation of illicit drugs. I know that Revenue is active in targeting and combatting drug smuggling and in playing its role, in conjunction with the other relevant agencies, in combatting this criminal activity. As a stakeholder in the Government’s national drugs strategy, Revenue plays an important role in implementing the supply reduction pillar. Strategic and operation plans, which are managed on a national basis, are in place to ensure Revenue meets its commitments under the strategy. This ongoing commitment is bolstered by the deployment of the two Revenue customs cutters, two large-scale X-ray scanners, several mobile scanners and drugs detector dog teams. Revenue works closely with other agencies in the State, including An Garda Síochána and the Naval Service as part of the joint task force on drug interdiction. Revenue also works closely with the Health Products Regulatory Authority, in acting against the illegal drugs trade. Revenue also leverages its contacts within international law enforcement agencies to proactively profile drug trafficking networks. The relevant authorities in the State work closely with their counterparts in Northern Ireland to target organised crime groups that are involved in a range of criminal activities, including the illegal drugs trade. This work to tackle cross-jurisdictional organised crime is being supported and reinforced by the establishment, in the framework of A Fresh Start: The Stormont Agreement and Implementation Plan, of the joint agency task force, which includes Revenue.
Revenue is also actively involved in international fora, including the EU's Customs Cooperation Working Party, Europol and the World Customs Organization, in working together with other administrations, agencies and services to counter the trafficking of drugs and drugs precursors.
I am satisfied with the priority afforded by Revenue to tackling tax evasion and illegal activity such as drugs smuggling and with its risk focused approach to the deployment of resources. I am also satisfied that it is fully focused on leveraging its co-operation with other State and international agencies and organisations to identify and tackle risk.
The Minister supported the provision of additional resources to Revenue at its request in budgets 2015 to 2017, inclusive. This has facilitated the allocation of staff to tackling non-compliance in all its guises.
I thank the Minister of State for his reply, but I reiterate that I firmly believe customs officials in the Border and midlands region should have the relevant tools and resources to tackle drug smuggling. On this basis I call on the Department to increase the amount of funding available to Revenue to enable it to increase its personnel and capabilities to combat drug smuggling along the west coast. We need customs drugs officials based in Kellybegs and Ireland West Airport Knock as a matter of urgency and they need the equipment to be able to conduct their work sufficiently. We also need a new drugs dog at Ireland West Airport Knock and additional customs cutter boats operating along the west coast.
Does the Minister of State believes the State is doing enough to protect our coastline and airports from the illegal importation of drugs and other contraband with the system that is in place? I am concerned we are not winning the battle against the drug gangs. The Minister of State will have to agree with me when I state urgent thought should be given to Revenue establishing new units, similar to CAB and headed by customs, to target the vast quantities of drugs coming into the country, with a combined approach between the Garda, customs, naval officers and fishermen. Radio control towers would be a crucial first step to increase our efforts in this regard.
To reiterate, the Minister is happy to support any case Revenue might make for additional resources, including for dealing with the implication of Brexit over the coming years. The Deputy has provided specific information which he thinks will assist Revenue and I know Revenue will be happy to receive it, in particular the issues raised in so far as sea access to the west is concerned. He raised issues regarding Kellybegs deep water port and Ireland West Airport Knock. I will provide to Revenue the information provided to me by the Deputy and I ask that he does the same as well as with regard to the ideas raised in so far as how Revenue's abilities can be enhanced in this area. This information and these ideas would be welcomed by Revenue.