Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 November 2020
290. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Minister for Justice the areas of structured co-operation between An Garda Síochána and the Police Service of Northern Ireland; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37695/20]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware that policing in the border region has always presented particular challenges that necessitate a collaborative approach to policing with law enforcement agencies north and south of the border.
I am pleased to inform the Deputy that there is an excellent level of ongoing cooperation between An Garda Síochána and the PSNI. The two police services work very closely together in respect of the broad range of policing responsibilities, not just on combatting the threat of paramilitary groups but also notably in combatting organised crime, ensuring road safety and in resource and capacity-sharing.
There is a Joint Cross-Border Policing Strategy operated between the two services. The Strategy covers the range of policing activities and contains a series of initiatives in which both police services are actively engaged and which will go towards fulfilling its objectives.
A good practical example of on-going co-operation is the Annual Cross Border Conference on Organised Crime. The Conference brings officers from An Garda Síochána and the PSNI together to enhance co-operation between all law enforcement agencies on both sides of the border under the shared objective of combatting organised crime.
Both An Garda Síochána and the PSNI are involved in the Joint Agency Task Force, established under the Fresh Start Agreement, which is comprised of both police services as well as other relevant agencies from both sides of the border.
The Joint Agency Task Force has made strong progress in tackling cross-border criminal activity across a range of crime areas, not just the traditional smuggling activities, but also rural and farm crimes, organised burglary and drug crime.
