asked the Minister for Justice whether there has been any increase in the number of cases where business premises have received bomb threats in recent months; and whether there is any evidence regarding the source of such threats and with regard to the authorship of the recent attempts at arson.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Bomb Threats.
111.
The number of bomb threats reported to the Garda Síochána in the five month period from 1st January to 31st May of this year was 172 as compared with 25 in the corresponding period last year.
Threats of this nature are invariably made by anonymous telephone calls. One person was recently convicted for one such offence. The Garda Síochána are not in a position to express any view as to the sources of the other threats.
As regards the recent attempts at arson, which of course are under investigation by the Garda, I cannot add anything to my reply of 25th May when I pointed out that it is not open to me to make statements about the progress of Garda investigations.
Has the Minister any explanation of the recent attempts at arson? Has he any information to offer on the extraordinary increase in the number of threats?
There was one conviction recently. As far as one knows, the perpetrator did not have any connection with any subversive bodies. My opinion is that it must be fairly obvious that the increase in these anonymous threats is probably connected with activities in the northern part of the country.
Have any extra security precautions been taken or are they under consideration in regard to business premises and shopping centres? This threat of terrorism is relatively new. I hope it will remain so, but there are signs that it may be on the increase. Has any consideration been given to deal with this kind of menace?
The Garda Crime Prevention Unit have had many consultations with the proprietors of business premises, who appear to be the people most subjected to these threats, and the vast majority, if not all, have accepted the advice given them by the Crime Prevention Unit.