Security at Dáil to be beefed up in months

Dáil visitors, including schoolchildren on class tours, will be forced to undergo scanner checks on any bags or items they bring into Leinster House within months under beefed up security measures.

The plans, which are outlined in a detailed garda document drawn up after an attempted sword attack last year, come just days after one senior Labour minister revealed he has received “death threats” and another was targeted by protesters while out for Sunday lunch.

In response to an incident in April 2014 when a man brought a sword and several knives through security in a guitar case before being apprehended, the cross-party committee on procedure and privileges (CPP) asked gardaí late last year to examine ways to improve safety.