An 18-year-old youth has been denied bail after a loaded sub-machine gun and a silencer were found wrapped in a tea towel in a wheelie bin in Dublin.

A 15-year-old Dublin boy facing robbery and public order charges has been remanded in custody after he broke a court's ban on him from going to head shops, which sell so-called legal highs.

A Limerick detective told the Special Criminal Court today that it was an "extremely" dangerous task to raid a house in the city where gardaí suspected there were firearms, ammunition and explosives.