Vol. 542 No. 4
60 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Defence the arrangements which are in place to defend this State and its institutions against an air attack such as occurred in New York; the arrangements which have been agreed to with the UK government should a plane be hijacked in Irish airspace and substantial concern arise that such plane could be used here, in the United Kingdom or another EU member state to mount such an attack. [24489/01]
As I indicated in the House earlier today in reply to a priority question, the dastardly deeds in the United States on 11 September 2001 have highlighted new security risks for the entire world. While the threat of terrorist attacks in this jurisdiction is the subject of continual analysis and assessment by both the Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces there is no reason to believe Ireland is a direct target. Notwithstanding that, it is important that all prudent precautions are taken.
In this regard mutual assistance and co-operation is maintained between the Irish security services and those of other countries to ensure effective flows of relevant intelligence. It will be appreciated that, in the interests of security, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on specific measures being undertaken to guard against or to counter such terrorist attacks.
At a meeting of the security committee which was convened on the evening of the attacks on the US on 11 September 2001, members of the Cabinet were briefed on the security precautions which had been put in place immediately arising from those attacks. A high level contact group was set up to monitor developments and emergency services were asked to ensure their arrangements were fully up to date. Since then the Security Committee has met on a number of occasions and the high level contact group continues to meet on a regular basis. In the aftermath of the terrorist events of 11 September, the National Civil Aviation Security Committee, NCASC, which is chaired by the Department of Public Enterprise and which includes, inter alia, civil and military representatives from my Department, has convened seven special meetings to date, the first of which took place on the day following the events in the US. At those meetings, the NCASC has been reviewing existing aviation security procedures for Irish aviation in the light of the current security situation, has strengthened existing procedures and is examining specific security proposals.
As regards the handling of a hijacked aircraft, procedures have been agreed by the International Civil Aviation Organisation, ICAO, for the exchange of relevant information between member states.
At the Government meeting on 18 September 2001, arising from a report of the contact group, Ministers were asked to ensure that all necessary measures were being taken to monitor and respond to the evolving international situation. In support of the emergency planning authorities in updating their emergency plans it was arranged that the contact group would seek to identify specific additional threats which needed to be taken on board in revised emergency plans.
