Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

On the general situation, with issues such as that which occurred in the UK during the summer, the security committee, particularly the Garda and the Army, the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the Department of Defence, continually monitors these issues. Most of the information on an international level comes from Europol and Eurojust.

I do not want to discount the matter, but the general view of the committee, on many of its consultations and meetings with me is that, while it is exchanging information, it is looking at the collective assessment on an ongoing basis, and there is no particular threat to us whatsoever. There are, however, at any one time a small number of international individuals, in or out of the country, who are monitored. Some of those are here on a long-term basis and some of them visit, but they are monitored. They probably know they are monitored across the jurisdictions. They comprise a small hard core of people who are under observation throughout Europe and who travel extensively, not in this jurisdiction but throughout numerous jurisdictions. The numbers of known people are very small but they are kept under observation.

Increasingly, and this has been the case for a number of years, the assessments of this committee are internationally based. Obviously, we keep close contacts with the UK, not just on security issues but on broader issues. We have been extending our bilateral contacts not just on security issues, but on broader issues where our Secretaries General are in communication. More regular meetings will take place now under Prime Minister Brown's jurisdiction where they will meet with their counterparts in the UK not just on security issues, which obviously will be on the agenda also, but on other issues. They tend to meet twice a year but there is a constant exchange of information among the security authorities, including Europol and Eurojust, on various issues.

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