BANKS were advised by gardaí as far back as 2005 to introduce security measures to stop criminal gangs targeting ATMs and their failure to do so is "irresponsible" and continues to "fund criminal activity", a security consultant said.

Senior gardaí last week began talks with representatives of the financial institutions, following a spate of raids since the beginning of the year where mechanical machinery has been used by criminal gangs to ram-raid ATMs.

Gardaí and senior banking figures are discussing the introduction of a dye system, which would destroy the notes inside the cash machine if it is opened illegally.

However, gardaí recommended financial institutions use dye in ATMs as well as in cash-in-transit vans in 2005 after then justice minister Michael McDowell appointed senior members of the force to chair a forum to advise banks and cash-in-transit firms on ways to combat robberies following a spate of cash-in-transit robberies in 2005.

A voluntary code of practice for the cash-in-transit sector was established, recommending a range of security measures, including the use of dye at ATM points, in 2005.

At the time, McDowell said the banks had to take greater responsibility for the protection of their own cash, pointing out that the banks pay €3m for state security escorts, which cost the taxpayer €9m.

A year later, it emerged the banks and cash-in-transit firms were not complying with the code of practice cash and McDowell hit out at the sector, saying: "I have reluctantly decided to again call in the representatives of the banks and the cash-in-transit companies to thrash this out. The whole industry, to coin a phrase, is now supping in the last chance saloon."

Joe Ryan, managing director of Glenevin, which provides security consultancy to financial institutions, said the new measures the banks were again being advised to introduce must now finally be rolled out.

"An 'end-to-end' solution was suggested in 2005. This involved the cash being protected from its source and this protection would continue when it was in the ATM. If the banks had introduced the dye system in 2005, they wouldn't have been hit so hard this year with ATM robberies. One of the reasons the banks didn't go for this idea in 2005 was because when the dye exploded in the ATM, the ATM would have been out of use for a while. Another reason was the cost of the system."

"The system they appear to be suggesting now will not protect the money along every stage. I believe criminal gangs will soon identify where the cash is vulnerable and target it. The banks and the government need to take greater responsibility – the huge sums of money being stolen are funding criminal activity," he added.

Gardaí believe that at least three gangs are involved in the seven hole-in-the-wall raids that have taken place since the beginning of the year.

New GPS tracking devices within bank machines to allow gardaí to pinpoint the location of an ATM if the machine is removed from a wall is also being considered.