Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

Following discussions I had with the banks and the Garda Síochána as a result of one or two high-profile so-called tiger kidnapping events, which were successful from the criminals' point view last year, there was a significant emphasis by the Garda Síochána and the banks on further training. These gangs have to a certain extent moved down the employment ladder in the banks in that heretofore they targeted mainly senior management but are now moving down. That begs a valid question. Obviously the banks have a significant responsibility in ensuring that people to a certain extent lower down in the chain of command in the banks do not have an opportunity to get their hands on large amounts of money. The banks have done work in that regard and significantly there have been a number of very successful recent operations from the Garda point of view. I must stress again that in those recent successes the protocols were followed and the Garda was given the opportunity of being aware what was going on before any money left the bank. In any of the unsuccessful operations, in the initial phases the Garda was given late notice and the money had gone from the bank before it was notified, which is the difficulty. I do not want to go into too much detail on the use of the latest technological equipment that might be used in this respect, which the Garda and the banks are investigating.

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