Law enforcement agencies from the Republic and Northern Ireland have said that cooperation in tackling organised crime has never been better.
Speaking at a cross-border conference in Belfast, Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern said that despite current economic difficulties, law and order agencies in both jurisdictions would continue to provide sufficient resources to tackle crime.
PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Judith Gillespie warned that dissident republican groups had displayed an increase in technical expertise in recent months.
She also said there was evidence that dissident groups were working more closely together than in the past.
