Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

This advertising campaign will commence next week and will run up to Halloween.

Every effort is made by the Garda to identify persons involved in the illegal importation and sale of fireworks. Where necessary, specific policing plans are put in place in areas where problems arise. These plans include intelligence gathering on known dealers and suppliers and, once identified, putting plans in place to arrest them and seize their stocks of illegal fireworks. Each year leading up to Halloween, special efforts are made by the Garda to combat the illegal importation, sale and use of fireworks. This year an intelligence-led operation entitled Operation Tombola, which aims to prevent and detect the organised importation, for sale, of fireworks, has been put in place by the Garda Commissioner.

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