THE DEFENCE FORCES bomb squads have responded to 82 bomb threats this year.
The figure was revealed by the new Defence Minister Simon Coveney before the Dáil break.
Coveney added that of those, 30 were viable.
He told Fianna Fáil’s Sean O’Ferghail:
“Primary responsibility for the maintenance of law and order rests with An Garda Síochána. The Defence Forces, pursuant to their role of rendering Aid to the Civil Power (ATCP), assist An Garda Síochána when requested to do so. The Defence Forces Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Teams respond when a request is made by An Garda Síochána for assistance.
Up to 15 July 2014, EOD teams were deployed on 82 occasions and viable devices accounted for 30 of these call outs.
“Other types of callouts would include hoaxes, false alarms, post-blast analysis, and the removal of unstable chemicals in laboratories.”
Coveney also responded to a question on the number of cash-in-transit escorts that members of the Defence Forces had carried out this year. He said that there had been 799.
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