MANCHESTER BOMBING IRELAND SET TO GET NEW ANTI-TERROR SPY AGENCY
Taoiseach says ‘we can’t pretend everything is rosy’ and that MI5-like unit could be formed
IRELAND looks set to create its own spy agency – amid growing concerns that an Isis terrorist attack could take place here.
Following calls in the wake of the Manchester bombing for a new intelligence agency to be established here similar to Britain’s MI5, the Taoiseach said yesterday: ‘There is an issue as to whether or not we should have a security and intelligence unit as a separate structure and how it currently operates. ‘We will reflect on that. We cannot
proceed on the basis that everything is calm and rosy and that nothing could happen here,’ Enda Kenny added.
Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said Ireland is the only EU state which does not have its own national security and intelligence agency – and that it has received criticism for this position.
‘That is a matter which requires fairly urgent examination,’ he said. ‘The question is whether there is a need for a fundamental re-evaluation of the position.
‘Reports I read are quite critical of our position and the lack of an effective single agency to deal with security and intelligence in this country.’
The death toll from the Manchester Arena bombing stands at 22, with at least a dozen other people seriously injured.
As further details emerged about the bomber, British-born Salman Abedi, attention here turned to ensuring that any similar plots in this country are detected and prevented.
Mr Kenny said the creation of a new spy agency was a matter that could be considered for the ‘root-and-branch’ review into An Garda Síochána to be carried out by Seattle police chief Kathleen O’Toole.
But Mr Martin said the current situation involving a national committee ‘where different people come together every time there is a crisis’ was not the ideal response.
‘The issue is whether responsibility for crime and security remains with An Garda Síochána, whether we have look to an alternative to that, or whether there is a more effective approach that enhances our capacity to prevent such atrocities from happening,’ he said. ‘It is very important to counter the growth of violent extremism.’
The Taoiseach today hosts a morning meeting of relevant Government departments and agencies to look at the security situation here in case of a possible Manchester-style attack. Mr Kenny suggested that a Britishstyle standing committee, such as that dubbed ‘Cobra’ in the United Kingdom, could be set up here for regular consultations on the threat level.
‘I have looked at the situation and have called a meeting for 7.30am of all the agencies in Defence, Justice, Transport and Health,’ Mr Kenny told the Dáil. ‘We will look at the situation in Ireland.’
The Taoiseach said it was important for the Government of the day to be able to give assurance to people that everything humanly possible was being done and put in place to protect the citizens of the country.
Mr Kenny also reflected that recent ‘savage acts’ of terrorism were carried out by people from local bases.
Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan said that meetings between senior officers happen frequently and happened ‘yesterday and today’. She said that, in Ireland, ‘while an attack is possible, it is not likely’.
Ms O’Sullivan added: ‘That means that we have no specific intelligence in relation to an attack here.
‘Nevertheless we have to be conscious of what has happened in Manchester, what has happened in London, what has happened in Paris, Nice, Berlin.’
The Commissioner, speaking during a visit to the Fusion and Acorn Youth Diversion Projects in Co. Offaly yesterday evening, continued: ‘What I would encourage people to do is increase their vigilance, increase their awareness, particularly with events where people will be congregating in the coming weeks and months, and to cooperate with security personnel and the event organisers.’
She said there may be increased searches when people are going into venues following the Ariana Grande concert attack, and urged people to be ‘patient... and vigilant’.
Ms O’Sullivan added that ‘if there are people with any concerns, no matter how small they are’, they should ‘bring them to members of An Garda Síochána who will be present at these events, or indeed ring any Garda station’. She said: ‘Those matters will be dealt with, they will be taken seriously and our focus is on making sure communities are safe and that we prevent attacks like this from happening as far as is humanly possible.
In terms of resources, Commissioner O’Sullivan said: ‘Obviously we cooperate very closely with our colleagues in the Defence Forces. We have regular engagement with them, we do regular training exercises together. We cooperate very, very closely with our international colleagues, both policing and security partners.
‘We share the intelligence that we have by pooling that intelligence, by sharing our resource and by making sure that we are prepared insofar as possible.’
However, she warned: ‘The unfortunate reality is that an attack like this can happen anywhere so that is why we really have to remain vigilant, we have to remain aware and, as I have said, I would encourage members of the public to not be afraid to report any concerns that they have, and indeed if people have concerns about individual family members.
‘We have our ethnic liaison officers who work right around the country, they will be reaching out to communities as well, making sure that we have those bridges in place, that people can have confidence and trust to come forward to An Garda Síochána and share any information or any concerns that they may have.’
Meanwhile, special security consideration will have to be given to the staging of the 2023 Rugby World Cup in Ireland, if the country wins the bid, the Government has accepted in the wake of the Manchester outrage.
The Cabinet yesterday discussed both the terror threat to Ireland and the Rugby World Cup. The winning bid will be announced in November.
‘An attack here is possible’