Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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73. To ask the Minister for Finance if he was ever briefed by the Central Bank of Ireland regarding contingency plans providing for the army to surround banks here because of a risk the banks would run out of money; the person that provided him this briefing and those who were in attendance at the meeting; if the Department of Defence was consulted on the matter in order to provide for the operational arrangements to put the plans into effect; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46676/14]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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Primary responsibility for the maintenance of law and order, including the protection of the internal security of the State, rests with An Garda Síochána. However, one of the roles assigned to the Defence Forces in the White Paper on Defence (2000) is to provide Aid to the Civil Power (ATCP) which, in practice, means to assist An Garda Síochána when requested to do so.

The Central Bank would have no role in relation to briefing on security deployment by the Garda Síochána or the Defence Forces.

I am advised that, for operational and security reasons, the Department of Defence does not comment on contingency planning for operational matters.