Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

We must look at this from a holistic point of view. The Garda has been very successful in seizing 2,200 firearms, a large proportion of which would be handguns. Will we allow the proliferation of licensed handguns to the other side? Not all illegal handguns are brought in with illegal drug consignments, although gardaí generally come across firearms in those hauls. It is possible that a large proportion of these illegal handguns are coming across the Border. It is probably one of the most accessible routes, because most of the ports and airports are manned by security. The Garda has been extremely successful with these seizures.

I do not agree with the Labour Party on this. It might not be party policy, but Deputy Costello said that we should get rid of Operation Anvil. I do not agree with that. When the Estimates process was ongoing, I made a decision to increase the money for that operation.

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