asked the Minister for Justice what members of the Government have been afforded State protection since May, 1970, giving details, in each case, of the duration of such protection, the number of gardaí involved and the cost to the taxpayer.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - State Protection for Government Members.
43.
Protection of the kind referred to in the question is provided as part of normal garda duties. It is not the practice, and I do not consider that it would be in the public interest, to give any details about security matters.
May I ask the Minister if such requirements demand the protection of Ministers within the precincts of this House, whether this is part and parcel of the Garda authority on duty or whether what happens inside the gates of this House is a matter for another authority?
It is internal security. If the Deputy has a specific matter in mind I should be glad to hear it.
The Minister has been most unforthcoming on this matter, Strangers who are unannounced and unaccompanied appear day after day in the bars and restaurants. We are led to believe they are the Special Branch and that they are here to protect some people from what I do not know. One would want to know if protection in regard to all members of the Government is money well spent.
The main purpose of Government security is security and if the Deputy is developing fantasies of the imagination that is his business.
I am not suffering from imagination about this House. I would remind the Minister that the matter of the amount of protection and the cost is something the House is entitled to know. If we cannot have the details, at least we might get to know if certain Ministers are being protected, how much it costs to protect them, for how long they have been protected and why they are being protected.
The Deputy will appreciate from his experience in Government that security matters of this kind are not for publication here or anywhere else.
I am calling Question No. 43.
May I come back to a matter which is possibly more the problem of the Chair than of the Minister——
No. The Deputy has asked a different question. If he wishes to ask a question relating to the House it is a different matter.
In view of the Minister's reply, I wish to give notice of raising this matter on the Adjournment.
The Chair will communicate with the Deputy.
For the benefit of other Members of this House, I should like to know what objection the Minister has to replying to this question. When a question is asked by a former Minister, a man who was a member of the Government for a considerable period, we assume he knows what he is talking about and that people are being protected here at public expense. For instance, I should like to know what protection is given to the Minister and who is likely to attack him. If the Minister does not wish to give the individual cost, perhaps he would give the total cost. We should like to know who is after the head of the Tánaiste and how many of the Special Branch are protecting him at the moment and the cost to public funds.
The Deputy will get no information from me on this one.
That will be a change.