This article is from page 4 of the 2006-08-15 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
SECURITY at Shannon Airport is “grossly inadequate” if a major disaster were to happen, according to former Irish army commandant and security expert Ed Horgan.
Mr Horgan was speaking in the wake of a plot to blow up 10 transatlantic flights in the UK and America was foiled last Thursday and believes that incident increases the threat to Shannon.
He said the recent decision to step up security at Shannon was “window dressing” and would not “prevent people from getting access to runways.”
“Security at Shannon airport is seriously inadequate from a terrorist point of view. The fact that Shannon is still being used to transport troops makes it a terrorist target,” he said.
“There is a significant increase in risk to Shannon and Dublin. Dublin city centre and transport in Dublin is the major risk and then Shannon airport is the second target.
“If we have adequate security measures, they are not being applied. Security at Shannon is grossly inadequate, for a major disaster,” Mr Horgan added.
“Shannon is still wide open. It would take, in my estimation, a batch of troops – 500 – to properly secure the terminal building.”
He said he would support efforts by members of the Catholic Worker Movement to close Shannon Airport to troops. He pointed out that the drop in the number of troops travelling through Shannon last month was “purely for economic reasons,” given that a major airline carrying troops, World Airways, had pulled out of Shannon.
“They must stop the use of Shannon by troops. There is a likelihood of a terrorist attack on Ireland if we continue to support the war by allowing troops through,” Mr Horgan said.
“It would be far better if peace activists succeeded in closing Shannon to troops than if terrorists succeeded in closing it. There is a real danger that Shannon could be targeted by terrorists.
“To re-establish Shannon as an exclusively civilian airport, we need to publicly declare that it is being withdrawn for military use. Ireland and the people of Clare have assisted in the killing of more than 100,000 people and there is a price to be paid.
“We need to take steps to undo some of that wrong. If that means closing Shannon airport temporarily, that must be done,” he said.
Mr Horgan’s comments run along the same line as several international security experts who believe Ireland could be in the firing line, because of the use of Shannon by US troops.