Has Ireland got a secret service?

Sunnyisland

I was watching a program on Tv the other night on some satellite channel about the secret services of countries, CIA,MI5,MOSSAD etc etc and got to wonder if we here in Ireland have one, I know we have an Army G2 and the Garda C3 intelligent branches but as where a neutral country overshadowed by a larger neighbour do we have secret service ?



And I know thats why its called a secret service :P

galwayrush

If i tell you, i'll have to kill you blast you with piss AH style

Sykk

Lol

Biggins

Yes - sort of.
More of an intelligence unit at times.

kfallon

There's a frw secret 'services' around Dublin

They'll even throw in a very secret and sneaky finger :P

Uriel.

realies wrote: »

I was watching a program on Tv the other night on some satellite channel about the secret services of countries, CIA,MI5,MOSSAD etc etc and got to wonder if we here in Ireland have one, I know we have an Army G2 and the Garda C3 intelligent branches but as where a neutral country overshadowed by a larger neighbour do we have secret service ?



And I know thats why its called a secret service :P

Yes we do... Now shhhh. Leave it at that and no more questions

galwayrush

Biggins wrote: »

Yes - sort of.
More of an intelligence unit at times.

And you ain't admitting any more....:D

senorwipesalot

The F.C.A

The Jammy dodger

Yeah our government is the secret service. But they are not very good at keeping secrets.

Biggins

galwayrush wrote: »

And you ain't admitting any more....:D

I know nothing more. :cool: :P

Rhyme

We have a mafia. Is that good enough?

Superbus

The IMF. Though they don't seem to be very secretive these days.

galwayrush

Biggins wrote: »

I know nothing more. :cool: :P

Ze geese fly high over ze frozen pond while ze sun shines...

mathepac

FFS we don't even have a decent public service - Seamus O'Bond agus Ms. Leath-phingin, yeah right. Christmas is coming again - bah humbug. Secret Service mo thoin, mutter, mutter, rhubarb, rhubarb

DEFTLEFTHAND

Biggins wrote: »

I know nothing more. :cool: :P

You sure about that Mr Biggins?:D

Biggins

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

You sure about that Mr Biggins?:D

Absolutely.

I was never here!

holystungun9

Yeah, certified by FAS.

G_R

I remember looking this up before, I went through a phase of loving all things spy like.
I remember I found a dail transcript where a member of the opposition was questioning the minister for finance. He asked what the unvouched, unaudited funds given to an agency called the Irish Secret Service wad used for. The reply he got was something along the lines of 'well if I told you, it wouldn't be very secret'.

I would try and find that again, but I'm on ky phone. It didn't take long to find I don't think if anyone fancies googling it.

cml387

I read in the paper today that the Stasi files,if placed end to end would reach from Dublin to Newry.

They are available for inspection by anyone in the former East Germany but apparently there are very few inquiries.

It struck me that I would have no interest in looking at my file,should such a thing exist in Ireland.
It would be a bit disillusioning to discover what a banal life you leave, and also how people you might trust had betrayed you.

Micky Dolenz

Yes we have. It's listed in government expenditure on annual reports.

El Weirdo

Grand_Rajnah wrote: »

I remember looking this up before, I went through a phase of loving all things spy like.
I remember I found a dail transcript where a member of the opposition was questioning the minister for finance. He asked what the unvouched, unaudited funds given to an agency called the Irish Secret Service wad used for. The reply he got was something along the lines of 'well if I told you, it wouldn't be very secret'.

I would try and find that again, but I'm on ky phone. It didn't take long to find I don't think if anyone fancies googling it.

WHILE YESTERDAY’S BUDGET was forced to wield the axe in a multitude of places – as Brendan Howlin sliced €2.2 billion from public spending – one small little-known agency was left with its budget untouched.
The Irish Secret Service – which previously came under the funding umbrella of the Minister for Finance, but which now lives under the remit of Howlin’s own Department of Public Expenditure – has retained its full budgetary funding for next year.
The agency will retain its €1m annual budget – despite having spent less than half of this, at €450,000, in 2011.
Indeed, the agency has fared particularly well over the last few years despite the successive austerity Budgets – its budget was increased from €900,000 to €1m in 2009, despite spending cuts of some €1.2 billion in that year.
Its budget was also maintained in last year’s Budget – despite an unprecedented €6 billion adjustment in the public finances last year.
Little is known about Ireland’s Secret Service or its activities, though officials have previously indicated that it does not actually exist: it is actually a budget category for joint operations between the Gardaí and military intelligence.
The service’s funding is paid into a bank account controlled by the Department of Public Expenditure, with funding then released whenever the ministers for Defence and Justice (currently both Alan Shatter) ask for it to be drawn down.
As one official told a Public Accounts Committee meeting in 2008, “imagine that the money is used to pay for information in the interests of the service of the State, rather than the supply of bullet-proof cars.”
In that light, it is perhaps more notable that the service’s spending actually fell in 2011, despite the visits of Barack Obama and Queen Elizabeth: it spent €702,000 in 2010, but only €450,000 this year.
Sadly, we can’t tell you anything more that that. Well, we could, but we’d have to kill you.

http://thedailyedge.thejournal.ie/we-could-tell-you-about-the-secret-service-budget-but-then-wed-have-to-kill-you-297609-Dec2011/

G_R

El Weirdo wrote: »

Grand_Rajnah wrote: »

I remember looking this up before, I went through a phase of loving all things spy like.
I remember I found a dail transcript where a member of the opposition was questioning the minister for finance. He asked what the unvouched, unaudited funds given to an agency called the Irish Secret Service wad used for. The reply he got was something along the lines of 'well if I told you, it wouldn't be very secret'.

I would try and find that again, but I'm on ky phone. It didn't take long to find I don't think if anyone fancies googling it.

WHILE YESTERDAY’S BUDGET was forced to wield the axe in a multitude of places – as Brendan Howlin sliced €2.2 billion from public spending – one small little-known agency was left with its budget untouched.
The Irish Secret Service – which previously came under the funding umbrella of the Minister for Finance, but which now lives under the remit of Howlin’s own Department of Public Expenditure – has retained its full budgetary funding for next year.
The agency will retain its €1m annual budget – despite having spent less than half of this, at €450,000, in 2011.
Indeed, the agency has fared particularly well over the last few years despite the successive austerity Budgets – its budget was increased from €900,000 to €1m in 2009, despite spending cuts of some €1.2 billion in that year.
Its budget was also maintained in last year’s Budget – despite an unprecedented €6 billion adjustment in the public finances last year.
Little is known about Ireland’s Secret Service or its activities, though officials have previously indicated that it does not actually exist: it is actually a budget category for joint operations between the Gardaí and military intelligence.
The service’s funding is paid into a bank account controlled by the Department of Public Expenditure, with funding then released whenever the ministers for Defence and Justice (currently both Alan Shatter) ask for it to be drawn down.
As one official told a Public Accounts Committee meeting in 2008, “imagine that the money is used to pay for information in the interests of the service of the State, rather than the supply of bullet-proof cars.”
In that light, it is perhaps more notable that the service’s spending actually fell in 2011, despite the visits of Barack Obama and Queen Elizabeth: it spent €702,000 in 2010, but only €450,000 this year.
Sadly, we can’t tell you anything more that that. Well, we could, but we’d have to kill you.

http://thedailyedge.thejournal.ie/we-could-tell-you-about-the-secret-service-budget-but-then-wed-have-to-kill-you-297609-Dec2011/

Not the one I was thinking of but equally lacking in concrete information. :pac:

Thanks, btw

razorblunt

No chance Bertie would have told everyone in his local by now, unless its like the United Irishmen - or one of those early independence groups, so secret people were publicly sworn in.

WoollyRedHat

Biggins wrote: »

Yes - sort of.
More of an intelligence unit at times.

Hey Biggins, how's the flower selling business coming along?

Biggins

WoollyRedHat wrote: »

Hey Biggins, how's the flower selling business coming along?

Blooming!

Ghandee

Did anyone ever find out who was in the 'golden circle'?
Nope....

Secret service!

Thatnastyboy

WoollyRedHat wrote: »

Hey Biggins, how's the flower selling business coming along?

Biggins wrote: »

Blooming!

Flowers By Irene?

ejmaztec

It's called Mossie.

Doc Ruby

Couldn't be more than a half dozen people with a budget like that.

Richard Hillman

They do a great job considering every large IRA bomb attempt fails in the north. I'd imagine there is an agreement with the british government to operate in the north. Whoever the big wigs in the irish republican groups are, they are most likely from our undercover special forces. Either that or they really are the ****test terrorist group ever.

charlemont

C3 is the Irish one.

ejmaztec

Doc Ruby wrote: »

Couldn't be more than a half dozen people with a budget like that.

Just the two, Mossie (as already mentioned) and Jacinta Moneypenny.

pajor

Supposedly there is. It's called G2 and it's an Army Ranger unit. All very hush hush.

Micky Dolenz

pajor wrote: »

Supposedly there is. It's called G2 and it's an Army Ranger unit. All very hush hush.

Thats covert special forces. Different to a Secret service.

Mint Sauce

The Jammy dodger wrote: »

Yeah our government is the secret service. But they are not very good at keeping secrets.

In fairness, they're not very good at anything.

up for anything

I'd like a secret service right now but it's not in the budget. :D

washman3

its called NAMA.........

pajor

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

Thats covert special forces. Different to a Secret service.

I stand corrected

WoollyRedHat

Thatnastyboy wrote: »

Flowers By Irene?

Maybe, or Cornations in assortments