Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy and Tánaiste and Minister for Justice Michael McDowell have both expressed their belief that the gang behind Dublin's latest hostage robbery will be brought to justice.
They were speaking at the passing out of 254 gardaí at the Garda training college in Templemore, Co Tipperary.
Mr McDowell rejected suggestions by the Irish Bank Officials Association that the Taoiseach should take a role in the Government's response to the growing hostage robbery crisis.
He said if financial institutions adhered to protocols agreed with gardaí more of the robberies would be detected.
"The one way that it will stop is if they are detected and intervention takes place. And that's what I'm so glad about in this case; that gardaí were in a position to take action. Everybody must be vigilant."
His comments follow four hostage or "tiger" raids in as many weeks.
Mr McDowell thanked the Bank of Ireland for its approach, and said gardaí had handled a life-threatening situation in a calm and professional manner. He was grateful for this, and for the fact that the three hostages had not been harmed.
"It's a very difficult crime to prevent because everyone with access to cash can't be under surveillance all of the time."
While there had been a "rash" of recent robberies, gardaí now had a very clear picture as to the identity of many people involved in the attacks.
Mr Conroy said the safety of workers with access to cash was a priority for his force.
He described as significant the arrests made at a north Dublin hotel early yesterday, and said gardaí now believed they knew who had executed Thursday's €500,000 Bank of Ireland robbery and how they did it.
He said with the key suspects in custody much of the progress would now centre on forensically examining crime scenes and the vehicles used. While the stolen money had not yet been recovered, the safety of the hostages was paramount during Thursday's live Garda operation.
The Garda intelligence relating to Thursday's robbery had revealed the number of people involved and their identities. Connections with previous tiger robberies were being considered. "It was never a question of resources with [trying to solve] a tiger kidnap. It was a question of getting intelligence to the gardaí, and I'm happy that the deliberations that went on with the various [financial and security] firms have begun to pay off. When we get information we will get good results."
He believed the companies that had been targeted were unsure how to handle the hostage situations at first. However, this had in large part been addressed by agreed protocols.
• Mr McDowell yesterday presented certificates to 254 gardaí, 71 women and 183 men, at a graduation ceremony in Templemore.
Garda Jason Lynch from Grenagh, Co Cork, was awarded the Gary Sheehan Memorial Medal, which goes to the best all-round student.
Garda Joanne McCormack was awarded the Commissioner's Medal for achieving the highest aggregate marks in academic subjects, while Garda Paul Ruby won the Templemore Town Council Medal for outstanding achievement in the area of social science studies.
