asked the Minister for Finance if he will furnish for the last three years, or the latest date for which figures are available, the annual expenditure which is involved in maintaining the Border, including the outlay necessary for the prevention of smuggling.

To furnish a complete answer to this question would require addressing inquiries to a number of Government Departments affected by the existence of the Border, and would involve an amount of detailed labour and research which I am quite certain that the Deputy would, on reflection, agree to be quite out of proportion to the practical value of any figures arrived at.