Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 64: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the discussions he has had with the financial institutions to prevent so-called tiger robberies; if new security measures have been agreed to ensure the safety of staff and the security of money; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31161/09]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)
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Question 65: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the stage of the garda investigation into the robbery of €7.6 million from a bank (details supplied) in a so-called tiger robbery; the amount of the money recovered to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31160/09]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 64 and 65 together.

I am informed by the Garda Commissioner that the incident to which the Deputy refers remains the subject of an active and ongoing investigation. A number of persons have been charged and are currently before the Courts in connection with the incident. Consequently, it would not be appropriate for me to go into any further details about the matter, including the amount of money recovered to date.

As I stated in the immediate aftermath of this robbery, I spoke to the Chief Executive of the institution and expressed my concern that such a large sum of money could be removed from the bank in this manner. Several meetings have also taken place between An Garda Síochána and representatives from the financial institutions to discuss issues relating to their security arrangements, including the issue of so-called 'tiger' kidnappings. There are agreed response procedures, which are detailed and all-encompassing, between An Garda Síochána and the financial institutions to deal with situations where members of staff or their families are taken hostage in order to facilitate robberies of such institutions. An Garda Síochána does not, for obvious security reasons, disclose information relating to such procedures and protocols.

I know that the members of this House will agree with me that it is vitally important that financial institutions follow the robust procedures and protocols that are in place to prevent robberies. These are there, first and foremost, to protect employees. It is important to recognise that it is only by rendering so-called 'tiger' kidnapping attempts unsuccessful that we will stop them happening, and thereby protect innocent employees from being caught up in them in the future.