Garda statement on Paris terrorist attacks

Since the terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday evening, which have claimed the lives of 129 people, An Garda Síochána have been in close contact with French and other close security partners to assess any implications for Ireland.

In a statement issued today (Monday),  it was outlined there is a Garda Liaison Officer attached to the Irish Embassy in Paris who has direct contact with the French authorities.

“Since these events, An Garda Síochána has conducted an intelligence assessment review and on Saturday the Commissioner briefed the National Security Committee and the Minister for Justice and Equality of our threat assessment.

As indicated by the Minister for Justice & Equality yesterday, the threat level in this jurisdiction remains unchanged and the threat environment in this jurisdiction at the moment can be described as one where “an attack is possible but not likely”.

Notwithstanding the current threat assessment, An Garda Síochána will keep under review the ongoing issues in France and elsewhere and will ensure that Garda resources are deployed in a manner commensurate with the current security situation.

The level of threat will be kept under constant review by An Garda Síochána in light of the ongoing developments. All appropriate measures will be taken in dealing with any threats however, for security reasons it is not appropriate to outline the detail of our operational responses.

Of course, this is an international problem and a key element in dealing with these threats is good intelligence sharing internationally. An Garda Síochána co-operates very closely with our EU and other international security and intelligence counterparts in responding to these threats,” the Garda statement concluded.