asked the Minister for Justice if the Garda have established the reasons why the consignees of a load of guns and ammunition recently seized at Dublin Port did not collect them.
322.
Written Answers. - Dublin Port Arms Seizure.
321.
asked the Minister for Justice if there was a leakage of information regarding the surveillance operation mounted by the Garda on a consignment of guns and ammunition recently seized at Dublin Port and if there is an internal Garda inquiry being held to discover whether or not there was such a leakage.
323.
asked the Minister for Justice if there are any prosecutions pending in connection with the consignment of guns and ammunition recently seized at Dublin Port.
With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle I propose to take Questions Nos. 321 to 323, inclusive, together.
While I cannot go into details on security matters and therefore cannot be specific as to the particular facts in this case, the Deputy will appreciate that the consignee of such a cargo may be fictitious or, if not fictitious, may be an innocent party whose name is used without his being involved. My reply, therefore, refers to those who were meant to collect the cargo rather than to the consignee or consignees as such.
I am informed by the Garda Síochána that they do not know positively why the persons who were meant to collect the cargo did not turn up to collect it. However, it was clear that those people would not in fact turn up once information about the Garda detection was published in the newspapers. The Garda cannot usefully speculate as to what might have happened if that information had not been so published.
On the question of a leakage of information, there obviously was a disclosure to the communications media but this need not have come from a garda as a number of people outside the force were in a position to observe that certain activity, which they could recognise as being unusual activity, was taking place. I am informed that there are so many possibilities as to how information could have reached the media that it would be a waste of time to embark on any kind of investigation.
In accordance with long established practice, for which there are good reasons, I cannot agree to make any statement as to whether or not there are pending prosecutions in any particular case.