Results so far on suspected anthrax samples collected here and sent to Britain for testing have proved negative, the Minister for Defence, Mr Smith, has announced.
He added that he expected negative results also from the remaining samples. Mr Smith spoke after chairing a meeting yesterday of the task force established to oversee emergency planning. "I want to reassure the public that the most up to date information available to us suggests that there is no direct threat to this jurisdiction," he said. He added that the full rigours of the law would be applied to anyone convicted of hoax calls.
Meanwhile, there were 12 call-outs of the Army bomb disposal unit yesterday. Three were cleared, and in the other nine cases the envelopes or packages were sent to the laboratory in Cherry Orchard.
These call-outs were to Kilcock post office, Co Kildare; Compaq in Dublin; the Israeli embassy; a private house in Blanchardstown; a house in Kells, Co Meath; a post office in Wexford; a water treatment plant in Ballyboden; the Garda station in Arklow, Co Wicklow and suspicious powder on the street in College Green, Dublin.