THE GARDA Commissioner has appointed a detective inspector to investigate incidents in which threatening letters containing shotgun cartridges and other devices were sent to two Government Ministers and a number of fertility clinics.
The bullets were sent to the Minister for Health, Mary Harney, and the Minister for Enterprise and Employment, Micheál Martin, on February 29th last.
A shotgun cartridge was also sent to Clane General Hospital on that date and a device with wires connected to it was sent the week before, on February 22nd, to the Sims Fertility Clinic in Dundrum, Dublin.
The device sent to the Sims Fertility Clinic accused the centre of murdering embryos.
All letters were signed by a previously unheard of group calling itself the Irish Citizens Defence Force.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern yesterday condemned the threats. "I'm not too sure what kind of mentality is behind that. But the gardaí are investigating it," he said.
He added: "It does happen from time to time but thankfully not very often".
The Garda press office confirmed gardaí were "investigating the circumstances surrounding a series of incidents involving the delivery of letters and items to a number of premises".
The Department of Health said: "We can confirm that an item was received in the post and its currently the subject of a Garda investigation so we won't be commenting any further".
A spokesman for Mr Martin confirmed he was the second Cabinet member to have received a bullet in the post.
The letter was addressed to the Minister at the department's head office in Kildare Street. While no specific details have come to light about the contents of the letter, it is understood to have made insulting and disparaging remarks about the Minister.
Mr Martin may have been targeted because of his previous position as health minister. In 2000, he established the Commission on Assisted Human Reproduction. Its final report in 2005 was considered controversial because of its majority conclusion that embryos should only attract legal protection after being implanted in the womb.
In addition, a majority of the commission approved egg, sperm and embryo donation, as well as surrogacy. And a majority also approved some forms of embryo research.
However, its findings have never been formally adopted by Government.