Joe Costello
Question:77 Mr. Costello asked the Minister for Defence if the Defence Forces have been placed on any heightened state of alert in view of the war in the Gulf region; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8923/03]
Vol. 564 No. 2
77 Mr. Costello asked the Minister for Defence if the Defence Forces have been placed on any heightened state of alert in view of the war in the Gulf region; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8923/03]
The threat of terrorist attacks in this jurisdiction is the subject of continual analysis and assessment by both the Garda Síochána, which has primary responsibility for law and order, including the protection of the internal security of the State, and the Defence Forces. The advice available to me is that there is no current credible threat to Ireland. As the Deputy will appreciate, for reasons of security, it would be inappropriate of me to indicate whether or not the Defence Forces have been placed on a higher state of alert as a result of the war in Iraq. However, I can assure him that we are continuing to monitor the evolving situation to ensure that all prudent precautions are taken and that matters are kept under continuous review.
The Defence Forces make contingency plans for a range of scenarios where the security of the State may be at risk. In addition, the Defence Forces have contingency plans in place in relation to the provision of aid to the civil power and the provision of assistance to the civil authorities for a range of emergency situations. In the aftermath of the events of 11 September 2001, the Government established a task force on emergency planning. The objective of the task force is to ensure that all State bodies can react quickly and efficiently to any large-scale emergency. As chairman of the task force, my objective is to ensure that such responses continue to be characterised by effective management of all aspects of emergency planning and by a high level of public confidence in all the response arrangements.