Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

The Garda Síochána is in very close contact with the PSNI and co-operation on pursuing those responsible and seeking to prevent any further incidents remains at the highest level. The Garda Commissioner and Chief Constable are meeting next Thursday and the Chief Constable has publicly recognised the excellent co-operation between the two forces. We have been very conscious of the threat posed by dissidents and that is why, despite the political progress in the North, the Garda has continued to deploy extensive resources targeting their activities. Despite the political progress in recent years, we have retained a full legislative armoury for dealing with terrorist groups.

The harsh reality is that it takes only a small group of people with limited resources to cause this kind of carnage. They have no support in the community. The Government remains determined that the peace process will not be jeopardised by the actions of a small minority. I receive security briefings regularly. Yesterday I was briefed on the latest sad developments. The Ministers for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and Foreign Affairs and I are determined to ensure the Garda and the security services in this country will continue to work very closely with their counterparts in Northern Ireland. We will ensure the continuation of the extensive surveillance and intelligence they have built up over many years, to which we are grateful for having deterred other incidents which, had they been allowed to proceed without intervention could have meant loss of life and limb. Many of these successes are not brought to public attention, but the vigilance is of a very high order and the professionalism of the Garda in this matter has been recognised by those who depend on that co-operation, for example the Chief Constable, Hugh Orde, and the wider community throughout the island.

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