GARDA COMMISSIONER Fachtna Murphy says there remains a serious threat from dissident republicans which must be tackled in order to avoid a major terrorist atrocity in the North.
Speaking to The Irish Times in his first lengthy newspaper interview, he said while gangland violence, drugs and increased stabbings were causes for concern as Irish society grows more violent, the threat from dissidents should not be underestimated.
"Everybody knows their intentions are still to carry out acts of violence in Northern Ireland, particularly against the PSNI. Over the past 12 to 18 months a number of events have taken place that are a cause of concern for both the PSNI and An Garda Síochána. While their capability is still somewhat questionable, and I wouldn't like to underestimate it, their intentions, it would seem to me, are still quite focused in carrying out some meaningful, in their view, atrocity in Northern Ireland."
In the past two years, dissident republicans have carried out gun attacks in the North on members of the PSNI. In one incident they used a rocket launcher to attack a patrol.
In the Republic, groups have been engaged in extortion and serious gun crime. Many of the pipe-bomb attacks last year - there were more than 100 - are linked to the INLA and other dissidents trying to extort money from drug dealers. A plot by dissidents to smuggle weapons from eastern Europe was also foiled.
In a wide-ranging interview, Mr Murphy said while homicides had fallen last year - to 49 from 78 in 2007 - the number of gangland shootings and fatal stabbings was a cause for concern. The rise in assaults was one of the reasons every Garda member is being issued with pepper spray. An increasing number of fatal attacks, including stabbings, involved young people, he said.
Mr Murphy said he understood why many people with information on serious criminals were too afraid to given evidence in court. However, he was hopeful a major new community policing initiative to be rolled out nationwide in coming weeks would result in more high-visibility policing that would reassure people. The culture of community policing would be "renewed and re- energised" with additional resources assigned to it.
"It's about my people being seen out there and being available to discuss problems with local people; be it public order or the drugs problem. I also want them involved in crime prevention and problem solving. Community policing is not a soft side of policing."
Different models would be applied to suit different areas with different problems, be they rural or urban communities, he said.
