Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I can inform Deputy Gilmore, in response to his first question, that a decision on the possible establishment of a standing secretariat, which has been on the agenda for some time, will be made next October. A number of jurisdictions have indicated an interest in providing the location of the secretariat. We have kept out of that to give a number of other countries an opportunity to follow up their interest in housing the standing secretariat. The Northern Ireland Executive, like its counterparts in Scotland, Wales and Jersey, has indicated an interest in providing a location. I am sure all of them would prove suitable, in their own way. All parties accept that there is a need to find consensus on this. The necessity to come to a decision has been agreed. No decision has been made on where it will be located. It is a matter for the various applicants that have indicated their interest to discuss the issue between now and next October, to see what the final outcome will be. It is felt that a decision, one way or the other, should be made next October. We will have to wait and see what the outcome will be.

On North-South issues and the recent atrocities and the consequences in so far as we can gauge them, the Garda has been keeping close surveillance on, and has been monitoring, dissident activity for some time with a fair degree of success. People will recall on numerous occasions over the past number of years the Garda's ability to intercept and intervene in what could have developed into full-scale operations directed into Northern Ireland. That level of success is a reflection of both the professionalism of the security services in this jurisdiction and also the level of co-operation taking place between the Garda Síochána and the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

The Garda Commissioner has spoken, not in the immediate recent past but from time to time, about the continuing threat of dissident activity and the need to monitor and conduct surveillance on those individuals. In many respects, such is the nature of terrorism and I do not think there is a capacity to sustain a campaign of the type we saw in the past from these groups. However, clearly these are factions which would have the capacity, and have demonstrated their intention in the past, even if intercepted, to conduct incidents here that would be a major threat to life and limb for anyone in the proximity of attempts, for example, to transport bomb material or to locate bombs in Northern Ireland.

Unfortunately, despite the fact that they have no mandate whatever and no support, these small factions seem intent on trying to continue to create mayhem and to commit murder where they can. Obviously, our security services are doing everything they can to prevent that happening. As I stated, a number of incidents have been brought to public attention as a result of various surveillance operations undertaken by the Garda. Many of them in jail and others may be charged. There is also an investigation taking place presently in respect of the recent atrocities and I understand a 17 year old has been charged with the murder of the policeman.

I do not have any other information beyond what I know to be the case from security committee briefings in recent times, that is, that the Garda Síochána is fully au fait with the need to deploy all and any resources and it has indicated that those resources are available to it to conduct the necessary surveillance and monitoring that it does on an ongoing daily basis to ensure that these people do not succeed in the terms in which they regard as success.

See this speech in context