The Department of Justice and Equality and An Garda Síochána have primary responsibility for the internal security of the State. Among the roles assigned to the Defence Forces in the White Paper on Defence is the provision of Aid to the Civil Power (ATCP) which, in practice, means to assist An Garda Síochána when requested to do so.
Since 5th February 2003, the Gardaí have requested support from the Defence Forces at Shannon Airport on occasion. I have no concerns with the frequency of these duties and I am satisfied that there is ongoing and close liaison between both An Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces, and between my Department and the Department of Justice and Equality regarding security matters generally, including the Defence Forces ATCP roles. The number of duties incurred in the provision of ATCP support at Shannon Airport in 2016 involving military aircraft of the United States of America is set out in the following table. There have been no such duties incurred in the provision of ATCP support at Dublin Airport in 2016.
|
Month
|
No. of Duties
|
|
January
|
36
|
|
February
|
27
|
|
March
|
39
|
|
April
|
47
|
|
May
|
33
|
|
June (to date)
|
21
|
