Garda Operations.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 July 2004

Thursday, 8 July 2004

Questions (5)

Joe Costello

Question:

5 Mr. Costello asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the estimated cost to his Department of security arrangements put in place as a result of the visit of President George Bush; the number of Garda personnel and Garda hours involved in the operation; his views on whether the level of security was necessary especially having regard to the disruption and inconvenience caused to persons living in the Shannon area; the number of arrests made arising from the security operation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20862/04]

Oral answers (15 contributions)

Mr. McDowell

I am informed by the Garda authorities that it is not yet possible to provide accurate estimated costs of the security arrangements for the recent visit of the US President. I do not want to give inaccurate information. It is worth pointing out, however, that the visit by President Bush was important, both nationally and in the context of Ireland's successful Presidency of the European Union. Accordingly, any costs involved should be considered to be part of the normal expenditure required for Ireland to maintain its national and international obligations vis-à-vis the United States and the European Union.

The extent of the operation which was put in place for the presidential visit to Ireland by the Irish security forces, both Army and Garda, is equivalent to the commitment that would have been made by any other member state of the European Union. It was not excessive in the circumstances and is what would have been expected by the people.

In case the Deputy might think I am evading the question of the magnitude of the expenditure, it will run to several million euro. I imagine it will be between €3 million and €5 million.

Mr. J. O’Keeffe

It was €4.9 million in the reply the Minister gave me last week.

Mr. McDowell

I imagine it will be in that territory but I am not in a position to give an absolute figure at this stage.

Mr. J. O’Keeffe

The Minister told me it was €4.9 million.

An Ceann Comhairle

It is Deputy Costello's priority question.

Mr. Costello

That is a ridiculous answer. I read in a newspaper article the specific amounts given in reply to Deputy O'Keeffe last week. I already had this question down. The Minister is not even able to give me provisional amounts here. He gave the blandest answer one could possibly imagine. He has given no indication of the costs of this operation and no information regarding the number of gardaí involved.

Has the Minister read the question? I asked for a number of things. Can he give answers? I asked for the estimated cost as regards security arrangements and the number of Garda personnel involved. That would surely not be a matter that would have taken long to put together. This would have been known before the President's visit. I believe there was an answer on that.

I asked about Garda hours involved in the operation, the level of disruption and the number of arrests made. It is not good enough that nearly a month later the Minister is not able to tell the House the number of arrests made. He simply has not answered the question. I am totally dissatisfied with that answer. It has avoided the question, no effort was made and there is nothing specific in the Minister's answer.

These are priority questions, after all, but the Minister has not given us a priority answer. Was the visit not something of a photo opportunity? When one considers that President Bush went to bed almost as soon as he arrived in Shannon, were the arrangements not somewhat farcical? It was really a sleep-over for the President on his way to the NATO summit. The main photograph that emerged from the event was of the President in his underwear. The Minister is unable to give me details of the security arrangements, such as how much they cost, what the numbers were, how many people were arrested and the amount of disruption that was caused. I am seeking such answers. Was the entire visit not manipulated by the President to get a nice cosy photo opportunity for his presidential re-election campaign?

Mr. McDowell

I gave Deputy Jim O'Keeffe provisional figures last week.

Mr. Costello

I asked a priority question.

Mr. McDowell

I presumed Deputy Costello was asking me to be more exact, precise and definitive in that regard. As he is aware of the answer I gave Deputy O'Keeffe last week, I presume he is aware of the magnitude of the expenditure involved.

Mr. Costello

That is a ridiculous answer. I want an answer to my priority question. The Minister could have made some effort to answer it.

Mr. McDowell

The answers to questions asked in this House are designed to inform the public. I do not resile from the provisional estimate I gave Deputy Jim O'Keeffe last week, but I cannot be more specific at this stage until all the sums are in and the calculations are done.

Mr. Costello

The Minister has not given me a provisional answer.

Mr. McDowell

The Deputy read the answer I gave Deputy O'Keeffe. Does he want me to repeat myself constantly in the House? Approximately 3,800 gardaí were involved in the security arrangements. I have not received a more accurate estimate of the Garda man-hours involved than that on which the provisional figures I gave Deputy O'Keeffe last week was based. I inform Deputy Costello that seven arrests were made during the Garda operation, which was much less than had been provided for in the contingency arrangements. The Deputy knows that a warehouse facility adjacent to the airport was designated as a temporary Garda station in case more arrests were made. A small number of arrests was made, happily. The proceedings at Shannon were peaceful and amicable, generally speaking.

Mr. Costello

I wish the Minister could have provided that minimum level of information when he gave his initial reply. He has informed the House that 3,800 gardaí made seven arrests. He referred to the provisional figures. Why did he not give such details at the outset, instead of saying that he did not have figures? Does the Minister think that a fair balance was struck between the rights of local citizens in the Shannon area, who suffered a certain amount of disruption, and the security requirements? A warehouse was opened up and many gardaí were employed but there was no trouble, as far as I can gather. Given the level of disruption and inconvenience that was caused, does the Minister think that the attitude of the State was excessive or heavy-handed?

Mr. McDowell

I do not believe the State's response was disproportionate. If I had ignored the Garda Commissioner's advice about the appropriate level of security, or said on financial grounds that I would not grant him the resources he sought as necessary for the proper policing of the occasion, and there had then been different scenes and a different outcome at Shannon — if there had been a major collapse in public order, for example — I would be accused of personal culpability. I do not agree that most people in the Shannon region have a negative view of the summit that was held there recently. It was successful in that the names of Shannon and Dromoland Castle were broadcast internationally. The general ambience came across positively in the media. The local economy will benefit as a result in the fullness of time. International name recognition is very important.