Murphy to press ahead with armed gardaí plan

THE Garda commissioner is to press ahead with plans for armed regional support units despite strong opposition from middle-ranking gardaí.

But there will be no universal arming of the force under his watch.

Fachtna Murphy admitted yesterday he did not have the resources to have gardaí waiting on standby for isolated armed incidents. He is planning a “second tier” of armed gardaí who will be able to access firearms in the event of serious incidents such as hostage or barricade situations.