Vol. 434 No. 6
89 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Justice the number of illegal arms finds uncovered by the gardaí from 1 January 1993 to date; the type of arms found, the number of arms found; the value and suspected place of origin; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
Particulars of the arms and explosives recovered by the Garda Síochána in the 375 finds to date in 1993 are as follows: 104 shotguns; 89 rifles; 122 handguns; 4 sub-machineguns; 40 imitation firearms; 25,800 rounds of ammunition; 345 kgs. semtex; 1,242 kgs. home-made explosives; 155.5 kgs. bomb-making ingredients; 11 mortars; 322 detonators, and various component parts for firearms, mortars and explosive devices.
I do not propose to comment on possible or suspected sources of this material. The identification of these sources forms part of the follow-up Garda investigation into finds.
It is not Garda practice to put a monetary value on arms and explosives recovered. The value of such recoveries is more clearly expressed in terms of their importance in preventing deaths and injury to the people of these islands.
