Vol. 558 No. 2
76 Mr. Penrose asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the progress which has been made with regard to the acquisition by the Garda of non-lethal weapons for dealing with siege-type situations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23718/02]
The Government noted on 19 November 2002 my proposal to authorise the introduction of the following "less lethal" weapons for use by the Garda emergency response unit where this is necessary to avoid the use of firearms: bean bag shot – this is effectively a bag filled with shot fired from a shotgun so that it does not penetrate the body but delivers a blow with the intention of temporarily incapacitating the person; pepper spray device – this is a special aerosol projector which is designed to deliver a directional pepper spray to a distance of 25-30 ft.; ferret pepper spray shot – this is a shotgun cartridge device that is intended to penetrate a door or window and deliver pepper spray inside. I conveyed authorisation for the introduction of these devices to the Garda authorities on 21 November 2002. The authorities are now commencing a process for the procurement of the authorised devices and for the development of appropriate training for their deployment.
