Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 March 2018
296. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Justice and Equality his views on whether there are persons within An Garda Síochána and his Department that are qualified in the field of international terrorism; if there are graduates with post graduate degrees in this area of policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11800/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy will be aware, one of the key responsibilities of my Department is to ensure the internal security of the State. The primarily role of the Security Division within the Department is to develop policies and strategies to support the delivery of security services and to assist the relevant authorities in deploying responses to any threat to the State's security.
Officials within the division promote Ireland's interest and contribute to work in respect of security and counter-terrorism issues at international level, with the UK, EU and US partners in particular. They are tasked with attendance at a range of relevant international and EU meetings, including the Standing Committee on Operational Co-operation on Internal Security and the Terrorism Working Party, where they have developed strong, positive working relationships with their counterparts and relevant sectorial experts. Senior officials in particular have an increased level of expertise in respect of this subject matter and focus their efforts on maintaining on-going knowledge and an analysis of the evolution of the international environment.
The skills and knowledge obtained through the practical work undertaken is invaluable and many staff have acquired high level qualifications in areas such as policy analysis and law which greatly assist in the development of relevant legislative measures and for counter-terrorist contingency planning.
Under the advice of senior officers and for security reasons, the exact figures on the number of Gardaí trained in this area have not been provided. However, I have been informed that a number of members of An Garda Síochána hold various qualifications at level 6,7,8 and 9 of the Irish National Framework of Qualifications or its international equivalent relating to terrorism studies.
An Garda Síochána has also developed a strategy to enhance training and is actively working with international partners to achieve a transfer of academic knowledge on why and how individuals and /or groups engage in terrorism. In addition, An Garda Síochána works closely with a number of third level institutions and academia who provide expert advice to specialist sections in areas such as radicalisation and extremism.
