Vol. 555 No. 4
21 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the progress which has been made with regard to the acquisition by the gardaí of non-lethal weapons for dealing with siege type situations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18506/02]
As my predecessor indicated to the Dáil in an answer to a parliamentary question on 26 March 2002, the commissioner had established a working group to evaluate the use of "less than lethal" weapons by the Garda Síochána. That group examined and tested various types of weapons. On the basis of their findings, a detailed implementation plan addressing such issues as logistics, procedures and training for specific weapons has been drawn up and the matter was submitted to my Department in July 2002. My Department has reviewed the proposals and I propose to go to Government with my recommendations in the very near future.
