Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 12 May 2004
8 Mr. Kenny asked the Taoiseach if, in view of the recent atrocity in Madrid, he plans to convene a meeting of the high level group chaired by his Department to monitor the aftermath of the September 2001 terrorist attack in the United States; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8970/04]
Amharc ar fhreagra9 Mr. Sargent asked the Taoiseach if the high level group on terrorism has met since the Madrid bombings; if not, when it intends to meet again; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9109/04]
Amharc ar fhreagra10 Mr. McGinley asked the Taoiseach if the National Security Committee has met since the Madrid bombings; the membership of the committee; if it has reviewed the threat level from international terrorists to this country since Madrid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9568/04]
Amharc ar fhreagra11 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Taoiseach when the high level group, chaired by his Department, established after 11 September 2001 last met; if the group has considered the implications of the Madrid bombing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10706/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 8 to 11, inclusive, together.
The tragic events in Madrid have re-emphasised the need for continuing vigilance against the threat of international terrorism. The security services continue to closely monitor developments, in consultation with security services in other countries.
The National Security Committee is concerned with ensuring that I and the Government are advised of high-level security issues and the responses to them, but is not involved in operational security issues. It is chaired by the Secretary General to the Government and comprises the Secretaries General of the Departments of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Defence and Foreign Affairs, the Garda Commissioner and the Army Chief of Staff, and their respective deputies.
The committee met on 16 March in the aftermath of the Madrid tragedy and again in April. In addition, its members maintain close contact on an ongoing basis.
In the aftermath of the Madrid terrorist atrocity the Minister for Defence requested a review of the State's security measures. Was that carried out and is there an outcome to it?
Is the Taoiseach not concerned that Ireland's approach to emergency planning is very fragmented, coming as it does under the control of the National Security Committee, the Office of Emergency Planning, the Task Force on Emergency Planning and the interdepartmental group under the control of that task force? Are there any proposals to streamline this?
In respect of the very welcome celebrations which the Taoiseach hosted for the EU enlargement ceremonies, was there any contact with any other European Union states on the question of providing assistance or extra protection to this State in the event of a warning about a possible terrorist attack?
This group of questions brings together the role played by Departments and the security issues with which the Garda Síochána and the Army deal. The Garda and the Army now have extensive contact with Europol and Eurojust. There are procedures whereby there is almost daily contact and exchange of information and intelligence with Europol and Eurojust. The system works very tightly. The National Security Committee feeds into Government. The arrangements are fairly tight.
On the enlargement celebrations, any information would feed through. Obviously the Garda paid close attention to the movements of certain people in making preparations. Furthermore, there has been constant and very close monitoring since 11 September 2001 of a large number of international groups and operations. The Garda and the Army are increasingly involved in close co-operation with Europol and Eurojust. One can never say a system is perfectly tight, given what happened in Madrid and the fact that a number of groups are creating considerable concern in Europe and beyond. I know this from my colleagues. However, co-operation is at an all-time high in so far as we can effectively work on these issues.
Three Deputies submitted questions. If the House agrees, we will take questions from each and a final reply from the Taoiseach.
I listened to what the Taoiseach said regarding monitoring and I find it difficult to accept. Does the Taoiseach believe we as an island are mindful of the enormous lack of monitoring around our coast at ports, harbours and ferry access points? The number of stolen cars leaving this country suggests it is possible for people to go through without too much fuss or monitoring.
The Deputy should ask a question.
Would the Taoiseach agree that terrorist monitoring in the aftermath of September 2001 is more focused on what might be called "spectaculars" rather than on the day to day groundwork monitoring that seems to be more in evidence at football matches than at ports? Would the Taoiseach not agree that there is a significant need to monitor our coast? Is that being done? It is certainly not in evidence at the ports and harbours in my constituency.
Would the Taoiseach agree with the generally accepted view that, in the event of an attack similar to 11 September 2001, we would not have the capacity to defend our airspace? Has this been addressed by the National Security Committee? Is there any understanding between ourselves and any of our neighbours that assistance would be provided in the event of such an attack to defend our airspace and our people?
In answer to Deputy Sargent's question on general security regarding drugs and stolen products, there is enormous cross-over of intelligence inside and outside the country between the Garda and customs agencies. Europol and Eurojust track the movement of drugs, sometimes successfully, sometimes not so successfully. Regarding rings involved in car theft and other issues there is very close co-operation. I presume the Deputy is referring to a number of major investigations currently under way and there is a two-way trade on these issues.
Shortly after the events of 11 September 2001, the Government set up the Office of Emergency Planning to co-ordinate the work of the various emergency agencies in preparing contingency plans. The Task Force on Emergency Planning which is chaired by the Minister for Defence meets frequently to discuss these issues, which include issues of airspace.
In the event of a major disaster the level of expertise and infrastructure that would be required is far greater than we would have. Other European countries would always assist, if requested, in the event of a tragedy in what would be considered to be crisis management relationships. The possibility of requesting assistance or aid is available to us under present arrangements. As we have seen, a number of far more sophisticated and larger countries than ours do not have these capacities. If a major incident occurred we would have to seek assistance. Such an atrocity happened some years ago involving an Air India aeroplane off the Cork coast and we were assisted from outside. The level of co-operation between the Task Force on Emergency Planning and Europol and Eurojust is at an all-time high, as is the number of people involved in justice and home affairs issues compared to a few years ago when it was not a big issue. Today it is by far the biggest issue on the European agenda, given the astronomical extent of resources being put into emergency planning and emergency frameworks.
