Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 February 2013
547. Deputy Joe McHugh asked the Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 149 of 6 February 2013 if he will describe the engagements between An Garda Siochána and MI-5; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7431/13]
View answerAs I indicated to the Deputy in my reply of 6 February 2013, operational policing co-operation is the responsibility of the Garda Commissioner and the Chief Constable of the PSNI and their forces. The Cross Border Policing Strategy which the two forces operate covers the range of policing areas of mutual interest to the two forces.
The Garda Síochána maintains a close working relationship with the police and security services in Northern Ireland and Great Britain and, indeed, with their counterparts in other EU and third countries in respect of ongoing, international efforts to counter terrorism. I am sure the Deputy will appreciate that it would not be appropriate, for sound reasons of security, to elaborate in any detail on what might be entailed in the Garda Authorities' relationship with other security and intelligence services.
