asked the Minister for Justice the circumstances in which a break-in occurred at Fitzgibbon Street Garda station, Dublin 1; whether the station was manned at the time; the items stolen; whether confidential material was included in the files taken; the steps proposed to prevent a recurrence; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Break-in at Dublin Garda Station.
119.
It is not the practice for Ministers for Justice to give detailed information to the House about specific crimes or Garda investigations except in singular instances where the circumstances of an investigation, or some particular aspects of it, are so exceptional that such a course is deemed to be appropriate. In this case I will confine my remarks to the following.
The Garda authorities have informed me that during the early hours of 14 November 1989 a burglary occurred at the detective unit office which is situated in an annexe attached to Fitzgibbon Street Garda Station. A number of files relating to various crimes were stolen. None of these files is considered by the Garda authorities to contain material of an especially sensitive nature but they are all, of course, classified as confidential. A radio handset was also stolen. While the station was manned by uniformed personnel, the annexe was not manned at the time of the break-in.
It is a matter of serious concern that an incident of this kind has occurred. The Garda authorities have informed me that an urgent review of the existing security arrangements at Fitzgibbon Street station is under way and that pending its completion certain interim measures have been introduced. The Garda investigation into the incident is continuing.