The Garda authorities are well aware of the need to have arrangements in place designed to prevent large sums of money failing into the hands of criminals.
The security arrangements to be made in any such instance are matters to be determined by the Garda authorities on the basis of their professional judgment, deploying to maximum effect the resources at their disposal. The Deputy will appreciate that, for obvious reasons, there are limits regarding the level of detail concerning such arrangements on which I can comment publicly.
There are and always will be, situations where the professional judgments made by the gardaí or indeed any other professionals may be queried on various grounds when something goes seriously wrong. This is essentially what the Deputy is doing and that is understandable.
I have confirmed with the Garda authorities that their cash escort policies are kept under constant review and, in line with standard practice, there is a further review of existing arrangements ongoing following the robbery in Dalkey. Obviously, the fact that lives were threatened by the criminals who carried out the robbery is and has to be a source of concern and underlines the importance of taking the lessons of Dalkey on board as a matter of top priority.
In looking at the Dalkey robbery generally, it is right to acknowledge on the positive side that the general arrangements the gardaí had in place were such that the raiders, although having the benefit of selecting the location and the timing of their attack, were forced, due to the speedy arrival of the gardaí, to flee the scene with considerably less cash than was in the security van.
On the question whether there is evidence that the raiders had paramilitary connections I am informed by the Garda authorities that at this stage of the Garda investigation into the robbery, no conclusions have been reached by the investigating gardaí regarding the involvement of any specific subversive or criminal group. Recent suggestions to the effect that the gardaí or the Government are seeking to suppress knowledge of Provisional IRA involvement in this robbery are without foundation.
Like all Members of the House, I condemn what was clearly a well planned and ruthless act of armed robbery during which shots were fired, including one at the driver of the hijacked car. Such incidents cannot and will not be tolerated. The priorities of the Garda authorities now will be to secure the necessary evidence to mount a successful prosecution against the perpetrators of this outrageous crime, and, as in other cases, ensure that the lessons to be learned from the crime are taken fully on board in determining their crime fighting strategies.