This makes the Dail one of the most exposed parliaments in Europe, with minimal security despite the increasing threat from global terrorism. A spokeswoman for the Oireachtas Commission, which runs Leinster House, confirmed that five extra security staff were recruited in the last few weeks but are still being trained to work the scanner and search visitors.

A spokesman for Stormont Castle in Belfast said that all visitors are searched and all baggage is put through scanners and this has been the case for years. Similarly, Westminster in London also searches and scans visitors' bags while upgraded security last year saw large concrete bollards planted around the perimeter of the building.

Brendan Howlin, Labour's Justice spokesman and a member of the Oireachtas Commission, said that unlike parliaments in other countries, Ireland does not see itself as vulnerable to such terrorist attacks and feels the security arrangements in the Dail are "adequate". "Over the years the Dail has gone through several security threats from within the state and didn't see any need to enhance security then, " he said. "It is a matter of getting the balance right between necessary security and the public's right of access to the Dail. Members of the house would be reluctant to increase security further and so distance themselves from the public who can still walk in off the street to the Dail."

The Oireachtas spokeswoman could not confirm when the extra staff and scanner would come into operation, even though the latest figures show that visitors to the Dail increased from 52,000 in 2004 to over 73,000 last year.

But should anyone manage to disrupt Dail business, the politicians will still have somewhere to go.

At its last meeting in June, the Oireachtas Commission, which is chaired by the Ceann Comhairle, Rory O'Hanlon, decided that Dail sittings would be moved to Dublin Castle in the event that Leinster House became unavailable "due to fire, flooding, severe damage or any other reason".