2009 Country Reports on Terrorism - Ireland

In 2009, increasing levels of Real Irish Republican Army (RIRA) and Continuity Irish Republican Army (CIRA) violence in Northern Ireland were traced back to elements in Ireland with the assumed objective of undercutting the formation of an integrated Police Service of Northern Ireland. Counterterrorism measures implemented in previous years were sustained and relations between the U.S. government and Irish law enforcement officials were increasingly positive. Over the past year, there has been increasing levels of cooperation with Irish authorities to deny Islamist extremists the opportunity to use Ireland as a base for facilitation of terrorist activity in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. Irish law enforcement authorities were focused on enhancing their coverage of what is assessed to be a small, ideologically dedicated group of Islamist radicals.

On October 10, the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA), an IRA splinter group responsible for some of the most notorious attacks of the Northern Ireland conflict, renounced armed struggle and agreed to disarm. Although INLA remained opposed to the British presence, officials from their political wing stated that the renunciation of violence was based on political calculations.

In 2009, Ireland enacted the Criminal Justice (Surveillance) Act 2009, which provided a statutory framework for evidence obtained by means of covert surveillance to be used in criminal trials.

In 2009, Ireland resettled two former Guantanamo detainees. Ireland continued a modest troop commitment to the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. It also worked closely with the United States on UN and other multilateral counterterrorism efforts, including the Financial Action Task Force, the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), and the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism.