Mr. Drew Harris:

Frankly, no. We only know what we know about an individual. If I can speak generally, we know what their intent is. We do not know what other weapons, explosives or firearms they may have. We have to then assess the risk. This is a responsibility I have under health and safety for my own staff but also wider responsibility to the public, so I have to make sure these operations are dealt with in a way which minimises the risk to the public but also minimises the risk to Garda members. Therefore, it is appropriate to put in the necessary resources, properly equipped and properly trained, to take on such an intervention. There is no other way of doing this.