Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This is probably one of the most serious matters that can ever be considered here. There are some things one can say and some things one cannot say. Facilities at Shannon Airport have been used for many years by members of the US Air Force, but I have no evidence of rendition flights through it. Deputy Mick Wallace has been there on a number of occasions.

Deputy Gerry Adams has stated we cannot consider ourselves to be immune. That is true and there is no complacency. The weapons of bombers have changed and are changing. Clearly, the incidents in France, Belgium, Berlin and Sweden lead us to believe this. There is now the capacity to take remote control of a vehicle and drive it at speed into a crowd of people, with or without a driver. More primitive weapons are being used to carry out the same destruction, leading to international incidents.

The question of having a separate security group or force has been raised. I am not sure we want an MI5 or an MI6 here, but the O'Toole commission which is examining the structure, policing and security matters, as raised by Deputies Mícheál Martin, Brendan Howlin and Joan Burton, can consider the matter in a way which allows us to reflect a very dangerous and changing world.

As Deputy Mícheál Martin is aware, the Defence Forces obviously have intelligence available to them on small numbers of people who might be in the country for purposes other than peaceful living. They are under review on a constant basis. That intelligence is made available to the Garda and shared on a very regular basis. Clearly, the Garda and the security forces generally are in constant touch, or daily contact, with Britain, the rest of Europe and beyond, where necessary.

Deputy Mícheál Martin referred to the slaughter of innocent victims. While all cases are tragic, one of the differences is that suicide bombers want to be blown up. The Provisional IRA did not want that to happen. It caused the same destruction and no warnings were given and people suffered tragic consequences.

The preparations for a serious incident here have covered and do cover a range of options, about which I cannot speak. No matter where one puts the cordon of security, however, people have to gather outside it to get in and these are always issues of grave concern. I expect the O'Toole commission to examine the issue of security or a security element-----

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