Garda sources agree with the RUC Chief Constable, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, that the dissident republican terrorist group known as the "Real IRA" is reorganising, but say there is uncertainty about its capacity to mount a serious attack.
Speaking on Sky News Sunday With Adam Boulton programme yesterday, Sir Ronnie said there was no doubt that the threat from dissident republicans was growing "almost daily".
He added: "They pose a very significant threat, particularly in the Border areas, and that is something my officers and their military colleagues are patrolling. I'm talking about that coalition of the so-called `Real IRA', Continuity IRA and some members of the INLA."
However, at least one of the "Real IRA" bomb-makers in the Republic is known to have left the organisation after last year's atrocity at Omagh and it is also believed the organisation may have fewer than 100 supporters.
Gardai have expressed concern that the organisation is active again and may be planning some form of violence. Garda surveillance on suspected republican dissidents has been stepped up in recent months.
According to one Garda source, a number of suspects have adopted anti-surveillance techniques, including the use of stolen mobile telephones and associated technology.
There have been reports for several months of the "Real IRA" seeking to make connections with other republican dissidents. According to senior Garda sources, the group has failed to do so.
The other dissident IRA group, known as the Continuity IRA, is said to have fallen apart. There was a row between Continuity figures in the Republic and the group's small organisation in Derry. According to gardai, the group in the Republic does not pose a threat. The Continuity group in Derry is said to have dwindled to the point where it poses very little threat.
According to sources, the "Real IRA" might have around 50 members in the Border area from Dundalk, where its leader lives, to Monaghan. There is also thought to be a smaller group, of maybe 25, in Belfast.
The group was dormant for most of the year after Omagh, initially because of the shame associated with the act of mass murder. Late last year the Provisional IRA also issued threats to "Real IRA" members in the south Armagh-Dundalk area. The leader of the "Real IRA" was seriously assaulted at his home by two Provisional IRA members.
It is believed the majority of the group which first formed the "Real IRA" in late 1997 left after the Omagh atrocity. According to gardai, most of these do not appear to have become active again. A Dublin man who gave the group its bomb-making capability prior to Omagh is said to have turned his back on terrorism and is working full time in a transport job.
Senior gardai, aware of the potential threat from even such small numbers of terrorist dissidents, have maintained a consistent level of work by Special Branch officers aided by surveillance units.
The Government has declined to comment on Sir Ronnie's remarks in relation to the activity of dissident republican groups.
However, a reliable Government source said the security information in Dublin was that there had been "no dramatic change" in the activities of the dissident groups.