Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

This is a despicable type of crime. The abduction and false imprisonment of a person's family or friends, in order to coerce them into assisting with a robbery, is a particularly abhorrent type of crime. The trauma visited on the innocent victims involved by heartless criminals can be only imagined by the rest of us. I know my contempt for those responsible will be shared by Members of the House and by the wider public.

There are agreed response procedures in place for dealing with such incidents. Regular meetings are held between the Garda Síochána and financial institutions to discuss bank security issues and in particular kidnap prevention and response protocols. While the Garda Síochána does not as a matter of policy and for obvious security reasons disclose these, they typically include the establishment of crisis management teams and protocols designed primarily to ensure the safe return of those persons held captive when such an incident happens. Thereafter securing the arrest and prosecution of those involved becomes the Garda priority.

Clearly it is incumbent upon the banks and financial institutions to do everything possible to prevent these robberies. That means the protocols must be followed and systems put in place to ensure that, for example, it is not possible for employees who have been placed under terrible duress to be in a position to access large amounts of cash. I do not blame employees who are acting under such duress, their safety and that of their families and friends is paramount. I do, however, want to reiterate that is the Garda priority too. The safety of people can be best assured by involving the gardaí as quickly as possible when these incidents take place. When the protocols are followed the gardaí are given a great advantage in their efforts to foil these crimes and arrest those responsible. That has been proven to be the case. It is only by rendering these robberies unsuccessful that we will stop them happening, and thereby protect innocent employees and their loved ones from being caught up in them in the future.

The training given to employees of financial institutions is in the first instance a matter for the financial institutions and I have emphasised to them their responsibilities in this regard. The gardaí will assist in this in whatever way they can. I have made clear the importance I attach to ensuring that staff members are fully trained and given the best advice on matters of safety and security. To this end, advice on personal security for staff members and on systems and processes for the conveyance, storage and dispersal of cash is provided by the Garda Síochána on an ongoing basis and is subject to regular review. I should mention that I have held discussions with the IBOA, the representative organisation for staff in the financial services sector, to make sure their concerns are heard and taken on board.

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