2HRS FOR ELITE FORCES TO ACT IN TERROR BID
»»Warning over attack on capital
»»Majority of soldiers not trained
IT would take at least two hours for elite soldiers to respond to a terrorist attack in Dublin, a senior garda has warned.
Defence Forces chiefs told Garda HQ a lack of 24-hour access to helicopters means only a limited amount of “fully laden” troops could respond quickly to an incident.
Those involved in emergency planning say the Army Ranger Wing, a special unit based in The Curragh, Co Kildare, would take about two hours to get to the capital while the small number of troops in Dublin’s Cathal Brugha Barracks are not fully trained to deal with an attack.
The Sunday Times reported the Dublin soldiers would be capable of taking control of checkpoints and roadblocks but many are “not tactically trained”.
Last Wednesday, the Defence Forces conducted a major exercise, sending more than 500 personnel to major locations around the capital, including Government buildings and Dublin Airport.
It focused on Ireland’s response to “a major terrorist incident” with Chief of Staff Admiral Mark Mellett describing the operation as a success.
He added the team “identified lessons from it” and “will continue to build on them in future”.
Security experts have previously warned
Ireland is “wide open” to terror outrages, with defence analyst Declan Power telling the Irish Mirror the country “ticks all the boxes”.
He said Government claims of gardai working closely with Islamic communities to monitor radicalisation are “nonsense” and action needs to be taken to prevent lone wolf attacks. Mr Power added: “In the UK they have a variety of programmes all about reaching out to the Muslim community. “They are trying to identify youths who could be radicalised. It is the best way because you are in a partnership. We don’t have that here.
“We obsess about arms and bollards. Those things are important but if we get this right it would be time and money well spent.”
The Garda press yesterday refused to comment on security matters.
Defence Forces also declined to say if it would take two hours to respond to a terrorist outrage in Dublin.
It said: “Commenting on response times is contrary to operational security protocols.
“Elements of the Defence Forces are on notice to move alert status. This is related to the threat level.”
500
troops took part in major exercise in the capital last week 37
Number of miles the Curragh Army base is from Dublin city centre