Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Primary responsibility for the internal security of the State rests with the Department of Justice and Equality and An Garda Síochána. Among the roles assigned to the Defence Forces in the White Paper on Defence is the provision of aid to the civil power which in practice means to provide assistance and support to An Garda Síochána when requested to do so. The Defence Forces retain a wide range of specialist skills which can be deployed in such circumstances, including for terrorist incidents.

There is ongoing and close liaison between An Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces regarding security matters, including aid to the civil power deployments, and a wide variety of military training activities are specifically designed to counter or respond to possible security emergencies. Regular co-ordination and liaison meetings also take place between the Defence Forces and An Garda Síochána on aid to the civil power issues.

The full spectrum of Defence Forces personnel and equipment are available for deployment in response to any security and other emergencies that may arise. Within the Defence Forces, both the Ordnance Corps and the Army Ranger Wing specialise in providing an immediate response to emergency incidents that might require their highly specialised capabilities.

The Ordnance Corps consists of a number of explosive ordnance disposal teams which are on stand-by 24-7 to respond when a request for assistance is received from An Garda Síochána to deal with suspect devices.

The Army Ranger Wing is an integral unit of the Defence Forces whose roles include provision of specialist aid to the civil power support to An Garda Síochána. The need for a high level of preparedness to deal with any requests for special forces operations is inherent in the unit's mission. Members are trained to the highest levels of motivation, physical fitness and skill at arms for their specialist role. The Army Ranger Wing is on stand-by 24-7 to be called upon to undertake duties in any part of the country.

I can confirm that the Defence Forces keep their operational plans and response capabilities for dealing with a wide range of threats under constant review. It is my priority as Minister of State with responsibility for defence to ensure the operational capacity of the Defence Forces is maintained to the greatest extent possible and I work closely with the Chief of Staff to this end.

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