Collins family ‘owed debt by State’

More than 100 Limerick gang members are in jail, including 20 gang leaders, the Government has said.

Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin told the Dáil that the State owed a “debt” to Steve Collins and his family.

The Limerick businessman and his family were forced to leave the country last weekend under the Garda Witness Protection Programme because of ongoing intimidation from one of the country’s most notorious crime gangs.