IS IRELAND AT RISK OF ATTACKS?
Taoiseach says new security unit on way
IRELAND is as prepared as ‘any country can be’ to deal with a New Zealandstyle terrorist attack, the Taoiseach has said.
While it was a shaky assurance, Leo Varadkar pointed out that a new national security centre is set to be put in place this year.
The proposal to establish a new Strategic Threat Analysis Centre came from the Commission of the Future of Policing, and its establishment was approved by Cabinet last year.
Mr Varadkar said in recent days that he expects a new national security coordinator and the STAC unit to be up and running ‘certainly this year’.
The STAC will be answerable to the Department of the Taoiseach. The new group or unit will work to collate and analyse information, and assess threats to Ireland’s national security.
Mr Varadkar was asked in Chicago how adequately prepared Ireland is to deal with an incident like the horrific terror attack at two mosques which has left 50 people dead in New Zealand. ‘We have seen horrendous terrorist attacks occur across the water in Britain, France, America and now in New Zealand. Countries can only be so prepared for acts of appalling violence that are carried out by individuals or small groups,’ he said.
‘But among the things we are doing, for example, in light of the recommendations from the O’Toole Commission, is putting together a Strategic Threat Analysis Centre.’
He said the Government is ‘doing a few things – really to bring together and coordinate what we do already when it comes to intelligence and national security’.
Asked how far along the Government was with that, Mr Varadkar said ‘we should have the national security coordinator appointed and the office set up… certainly this year’.
The establishment of STAC was one of the recommendations of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland, which was chaired by former US police chief Kathleen O’Toole.
The Government discussed the implementation of these recommendations last December. It was reported at the time that STAC would have ‘a small, permanent staff, supplemented by personnel from An Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces as well as officials seconded from relevant departments’.
Following the horrific terror attack on Muslim worshippers in Christchurch last week, St Patrick’s Day celebrations were disrupted in the city.
Instead of its usual shindig, the Bog Irish Bar held a day of remembrance for the victims of the massacre in two of the city’s mosques. It also took up a collection among patrons to help those bereaved and injured by Friday’s terror attack.
It took the decision to postpone its traditional live music, food and dancing events planned for St Patrick’s Day until next weekend as a mark of respect.
Meanwhile, security officials believe the New Zealand mosque killer may have visited the UK during a tour of Europe two years ago which galvanised his extremism.
MI5 is understood to be looking at Brenton Tarrant’s travel history to work out his itinerary and establish if he met any farright fanatics during the trip.
The gunman said in a hatefilled ‘manifesto’ he posted online just before his killings that he had planned them after his two-month travels in 2017.
He travelled to Spain and Portugal, and hired a car in France, visiting war graves before possibly heading to the UK by ferry. Sources said police were yet to find any proof Tarrant, 28, had set foot in Britain, but it seemed ‘implausible’ that he hadn’t.
The white supremacist had ‘For Rotherham’ scrawled on an ammunition clip – thought to be a reference to the child sex abuse scandal in the South Yorkshire town predominantly involving Asian men.
Tarrant appeared in court in Christchurch on Saturday. As he stood in the dock charged with one count of murder, the Australian national made a ‘white power’ gesture with one of his handcuffed hands.
‘Countries can only be so prepared’