Vol. 561 No. 5
101 Mr. McGinley asked the Minister for Defence if an assessment is or has been carried out on the requirements necessary to defend Irish citizens and the State in the event of international conflict or terrorist attack; and if he has satisfied himself that the Defence Forces are adequately equipped to provide the necessary protection. [4952/03]
The Garda Síochána has primary responsibility for law and order, including the protection of the internal security of the State.
While the threat of terrorist attacks in this jurisdiction is the subject of continual analysis and assessment by both the Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces, there is no reason to believe that Ireland is a direct target. Notwithstanding that, it is important that all prudent precautions are taken and that matters are kept under continual review.
In the aftermath of the events of 11 September 2001, the Government established a task force on emergency planning. The objective of the task force is to ensure that all State bodies can react quickly and efficiently to any large-scale emergency. As chair of this task force, my objective is to ensure that such responses continue to be characterised by effective management of all aspects of emergency planning and by a high level of public confidence in all the response arrangements.
The office of emergency planning, OEP, which operates under my remit in the Department of Defence, is taking the lead role in emergency planning to meet the new threats from global terrorism, including co-ordination of Government emergency planning and responses by various agencies. Review and updating of existing emergency plans is ongoing to ensure a co-ordinated and effective response to large-scale emergencies. The major emergency plan is the framework for the immediate response by the emergency services – gardaí, health, fire service, etc., – to any major incident.
An urgent and detailed review of capacities and procedures to deal with a range of emergency situations was undertaken by the military authorities following on from the events of 11 September. It included, inter alia: an update of the threat assessment; intensive contacts with other State agencies; a reassessment of operations orders relating to vital installations, alert systems; the Army Ranger wing, ordnance and engineer assets in terms of explosive ordnance disposal and specialist search; and a review of equipment including the need for air defence. Guidance documents pertaining to aid to the civil power and aid to the civil authorities were also re-assessed. All matters arising were addressed and all procedures updated as required.
In relation to equipment, as Deputies will be aware there has been a significant investment in new equipment for the Defence Forces over the past number of years. This investment is continuing apace, notwithstanding the changed economic circumstances. In the past few months alone, I have signed contracts for 25 additional APCs and eight trainer aircraft for the Air Corps.
The Defence Forces have available to them equipment for monitoring and protecting its members in dealing with the varying nuclear, biological and chemical threats identified from time to time. A programme for the purchase of nuclear, biological and chemical – NBC – equipment is ongoing and the requirement for additional NBC equipment is kept under continual review by the ordnance corps.
The Minister indicated in a previous reply to my first question that he recently signed a contract for the purchase of training aircraft to the value of €60 million. Is the Minister confident that those aircraft will be sufficiently versatile to provide the necessary air cover for our air space? Is it true that these new aircraft are slower than a commercial aircraft? If that is the case, their effectiveness may not be 100%. Does the Minister agree that terrorists are usually attracted to soft targets and, in addition to Shannon Airport, there are a number of regional airports in various parts of the country from Donegal to Kerry? Will he indicate if any steps have been taken to provide security at some of our regional airports?
As the Deputy is aware, we have a limited ground-to-air defence capacity. That has always been the position. The trainer aircraft which are being purchased have a limited defence capacity. They are primarily trainer aircraft. Bearing in mind that the training of pilots is the essential job of the Air Corps, that would be the primary consideration in terms of the type of aircraft required. That is based on the technical analysis done by the expert groups which recommend to me the type of aircraft that are most suitable for our purpose.
The second part of the Deputy's question is extraordinarily difficult and it is an issue that is being addressed by governments throughout the world. It concerns the impossibility of being able to provide air defence from the ground in the kind of circumstances the Deputy is outlining. In terms of coping with information we receive, and taking into account the fact that aircraft may only have 15 minutes to travel the hundreds of miles to their destination, it is a science beyond me in terms of the technical capacity required to address the problem. I am aware from talking to colleagues around the world that it is a concern which is not easily addressed to our satisfaction or the satisfaction of the people we represent. I want to be as honest as possible. We do not have substantial resources in this area, nor are we likely to have such resources in future. To answer this question as I have answered others, one has more or less failed in one's security work when a terrorist has secured an aircraft and controls it. Defence must occur before that if one is to secure the public; that is what examples of such activity teach us.
If the Minister got a phone call this afternoon that an aeroplane loaded with explosives was headed towards a target here, what would be our capacity to intercept that aeroplane? Would we have to call on some of our neighbours to do the needful?
I have already answered the question in one sense but I do not want to go into any detail regarding the exceptional circumstances outlined by the Deputy. The security services have planned for such events and it would be improper to discuss those plans in public. However, it is clear that outside assistance would be required.
