The justice minister says Gardaí will soon be given access to a European database on suspected terrorists and dangerous persons.

Frances Fitzgerald says she's secured government funding so that Ireland can get access to the Schengen Information Database.

The database is a live list of suspected terrorists and criminals, used by 26 countries in continental Europe.

The Minister's told the Dail that she's keen for access to be granted as soon as possible:

The minister has also denied that Gardaí don't have enough language skills to ensure national security.

Her comments come after reports that nobody in the two Garda terrorism units can speak Arabic.

In the Dáil this afternoon the Minister did not say whether those reports were incorrect - but stressed that the Garda Commissioner had no concerns about the ability of Garda units to monitor dangerous individuals: