Speeches by Kearns.

“Rob, you said there has been no spike in CTA abuse and obviously these long-term routes. In terms of cross-border criminality, what percentage would you say is paramilitary versus organised crime groups—or is it just too blurred for you to segregate significantly?”

“Chair, perhaps the Committee could write to the PSNI to ask for its view. Rob, is there anything that we should be aware of that is new, alarming or that we should keep an eye on with trends in activity by paramilitaries in Northern Ireland?”

“Forgive me, but you spend your time having private conversations, roundtables and discussions with serving and former police officers, so to come to the conclusion that there needs to be a joint co-ordination hub, there must be an issue or a problem that is not being delivered on. Therefore, you presumably have police …”

“Rob, you will be aware that there is a crisis of male violence in Northern Ireland. I am interested in the role of sexual violence and child abuse within paramilitary organisations.”

“So you do need a structure?”

“You mentioned that there is strong co-operation, but also that you think there need to be more formalised structures—either a joint co-ordination hub or more timely alert sharing. Are you aware, through your interviews or your roundtables, or from the public domain anywhere, of any failures or collapses of cases or inv…”

“We have just heard evidence that there is strong co-operation, but that more structures were needed. Are investigations collapsing or being frustrated because of a lack of structures? Do you have real-time alerts across the borders? Do you therefore need—I think the recommendations were for this—a UK-Ireland joint co-o…”

“Chair, perhaps the Committee could write to the PSNI to ask for its view. Rob, is there anything that we should be aware of that is new, alarming or that we should keep an eye on with trends in activity by paramilitaries in Northern Ireland?”

“Most of the tobacco and vape shops within England seem to be run by Kurdish gangs or Turkish gangs. I presume that that is not the same in Northern Ireland, or are you starting to see that creep in?”

“Rob, you will be aware that there is a crisis of male violence in Northern Ireland. I am interested in the role of sexual violence and child abuse within paramilitary organisations.”

“So you do need a structure?”

“You mentioned that drugs are common across the area. What type of drugs does your research show are involved? Is it cocaine? Is it Captagon? What sort of thing are we seeing?”

“We have just heard evidence that there is strong co-operation, but that more structures were needed. Are investigations collapsing or being frustrated because of a lack of structures? Do you have real-time alerts across the borders? Do you therefore need—I think the recommendations were for this—a UK-Ireland joint co-o…”

“Most of the tobacco and vape shops within England seem to be run by Kurdish gangs or Turkish gangs. I presume that that is not the same in Northern Ireland, or are you starting to see that creep in?”

“Me, too. Miles, let us turn to the economics of illegal vapes and illegal tobacco. You may also want to touch on firearms and money laundering, given your previous experience. What are we seeing there, in terms of nature, actors and trends?”

“Me, too. Miles, let us turn to the economics of illegal vapes and illegal tobacco. You may also want to touch on firearms and money laundering, given your previous experience. What are we seeing there, in terms of nature, actors and trends?”

“Are you seeing much of a pattern with fentanyl and Captagon?”

“Are you seeing much of a pattern with fentanyl and Captagon?”

“Are those primarily Irish nationals, or are they people being trafficked from elsewhere into Ireland as an easy way to get them into the UK?”

“Is it always Colombia? Is it Venezuela? Where is it from?”