asked the Minister for Justice if he has satisfied himself that the arms, ammunition and explosives' finds uncovered by the Garda Síochána over the past 12 months have reduced considerably the suspected quantities of arms, ammunition and explosives illegally imported into the country in recent years; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Arms and Explosives Finds.
22.
More than 100 tonnes of arms were seized aboard the Eksund by the French authorities in October 1987. As I informed the House during the debate on security matters on 10 November 1987, there are reasons for believing that four separate cargoes of arms may have been landed here in 1985 and 1986 with a combined tonnage in excess of that amount. Since that information came to light, the Garda, through a sustained programme of intensive searching, have recovered amounts of arms, ammunition and explosives on a scale not seen before. There have also been very sizeable finds in the North of similar materials thought to have been part of the cargoes referred to. However, the indications are that a very great amount of the armaments contained in the pre-Eksund shipments have yet to be recovered. The Garda are continuing to carry out searches as they consider necessary and significant finds are being made on a regular basis.