GARDAÍ across the country want armed officers on the street on a permanent basis to combat an “increase in armed violence”.

Gardaí will begin to be armed with pepper spray over the coming weeks, it was confirmed today.

MORE than 200 Garda vehicles bought in December 2006 were still in storage in February of this year, while almost 1,000 vehicles bought for the force in 2006 were still not assigned for any use by the end of that year.

AN ELITE unit of heavily armed gardaí will begin patrolling the streets of Cork from this morning.

A HEAVILY armed and highly trained Garda unit is to hit the streets of Cork from Monday week.

REGIONAL Garda firearm squads are to be set up despite the reservations of lower and middle-ranking gardaí.

MIDDLE-RANKING gardaí yesterday made a blistering attack on Justice Minister Michael McDowell blaming him for the morale crisis within the force.

The president of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) tonight launched a prolonged attack on Tánaiste and Minister for Justice Michael McDowell, saying that morale in the force is the worst it has been for at least 35 years.

THE number of gardaí trained to use guns will increase and all members will wear bullet-proof vests and carry pepper spray on the beat as part of the force’s response to the Abbeylara siege.

JOHN CARTHY’S family said last night the breadth of recommendations in the Garda Inspectorate’s report showed that the force still had a long way to go to avoid a repeat of Abbeylara.

Senior garda officers in charge of two major siege situations last year were not fully trained in dealing with the crises, the Garda Inspectorate revealed today.

A new report is expected to recommend the introduction of new measures to improve the safety of gardaí in siege situations.

ABBEYLARA siege victim John Carthy may have left his house to look for cigarettes when he was shot four times by armed garda officers, his sister says in a new book published yesterday.

An internal garda enquiry has been launched into the siege in Gort, Co Galway, which ended with 39-year-old Anthony Burke being in a critical condition in hospital, having been shot once by the gardaí.

THOUSANDS of rank-and-file gardaí should rise up and demand sweeping reform of the force, following a spate of corruption and disciplinary scandals, Labour leader Pat Rabbitte yesterday urged.

IN light of the unrelenting savaging which the Garda Siochána received from the Morris Tribunal into garda corruption, any assurance from Justice Minister Michael McDowell that there would be no toleration of such appalling behaviour is worthless.

The Garda Commissioner has reportedly apologised to the family of John Carthy over the fatal shooting of the 27-year-old in Co Longford more than six years ago.

The garda force expressed its regret at the death of John Carthy tonight and offered the sympathy of all members to his family.

THE fatal shooting of John Carthy in Abbeylara six years ago should never have happened.

THE fatal shooting of John Carthy by gardaí in Abbeylara “should never have happened”, the Barr Tribunal has found.

The family of John Carthy today said it was too early to decide on whether to take legal action against the state over his fatal shooting by gardai in Abbeylara in 2000.

Garda unions expressed regret at the death of John Carthy and called for improvements in training recommended by the Barr Tribunal report to be acted on immediately.

A mystery illness to Mr Justice Robert Barr, a heavy workload and printing problems caused unforeseen delays in publishing the Barr Tribunal’s report, it was claimed today.

The Chief Inspector of the new Garda Inspectorate, Kathleen O’Toole, will immediately review Garda procedures and practices following the publication of the Barr report, the Minister for Justice Michael McDowell revealed today.

A long-awaited report into the fatal shooting of John Carthy after an armed siege with gardaí over six years ago is to be made public today.

The report of the Barr Inquiry into the shooting dead of John Carthy is now expected to be published next week.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, has told the Dáil that Justice Robert Barr's report into the Abbeylara siege six years ago is expected to be published next month.

The Government was today criticised for a lack of information on the forthcoming report into the fatal shooting of John Carthy in Abbeylara, Co Longford more than six years ago.

The long-awaited report into the fatal shooting by gardaí of John Carthy in 2000 is set to be completed next month, it emerged today.

There is an appalling scarcity of civilian support staff for the Gardaí, a conference heard today.

The report into the fatal shooting by gardaí of John Carthy in 2000 is set to be published before the end of the year.

A KILLING, a garda siege, the besieged killer taking his own life — the sequence of events whose final tragic outcome was the pointless waste of two lives is a not unfamiliar drama.

THE release of the report into the fatal shooting by gardaí of John Carthy in 2000 is to be delayed by three months.

Seán McCárthaigh

GARDAÍ are facing a bill of up to €1.5 million to defend themselves in tribunals and court cases, it emerged yesterday.

Gardaí are facing a bill of up to €1.5m to defend themselves in tribunals and court cases, it emerged today.

Hoax IRA arms dumps, corrupt senior gardaí, and claims of harassment have already rocked An Garda Siochana yet tomorrow sees the start of another two years of inquiry.

LAWYERS will be paid at a much reduced rate if tribunals drag on longer than dates announced yesterday by the Government.

I REFER to Cormac O'Keefe's article (Irish Examiner, April 17) regarding the introduction of an armed police force.

Legal representatives of the gardaí involved in the Abbeylara siege are expected to return to the Barr Tribunal next week, after a ruling made yesterday by the chairman of the inquiry.

IF the gardaí have nothing to hide from the Barr Tribunal into the shooting of John Carthy in Abbeylara four years ago, then they should be in there arguing their case.

Gardaí involved in the shooting of John Carthy in Abbeylara four years ago are due to reveal today whether they are prepared to continue co-operating with the inquiry into the killing.

A legal representative for the gardaí involved in the shooting of John Carthy in Abbeylara four years ago has requested a further day to consider an ultimatum issued to his clients yesterday by the chairman of the Barr Tribunal.

The gardaí involved in the shooting of John Carthy in Abbeylara four years ago are due to reveal today whether they are prepared to continue co-operating with the inquiry into the killing.