Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 May 2014
639. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Justice and Equality her views regarding increased activity from dissident republicans in view of the fact a bomb was found in a Dublin city hotel recently; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22179/14]
View answerThe discovery recently of an explosive device in a car at a hotel in Dublin showed the scant regard which some people have for the lives and safety of innocent persons. Deputies will also be aware that the Gardaí interdicted another explosive device last Sunday at Kilcurry in County Louth and made a number of arrests. The Garda authorities, with the assistance of the Defence Forces, are to be congratulated for their prompt actions with regard to these incidents, rendering the devices safe and taking suspects into custody.
The House will appreciate that in circumstances where there are ongoing Garda investigations and where people have been arrested and are facing charges, it would not be appropriate to comment in detail. What I will say is that there is a real and persistent threat posed by certain paramilitary groups on this island whose aim is a return to the misery and bloodshed of past decades. These people have no support in the wider community. Their actions fly in the face of the peaceful wishes of the vast majority of people on this island who abhor these groups and their violence and criminality. With the full support of the Government, the Gardaí and their colleagues in Northern Ireland are working at one in the fight to disrupt and prosecute those who seek through violence to return us to a failed past.
