Gardaí get new set of siege situation procedures

The Garda authorities have agreed to implement a new set of procedures on how they handle sieges.

The recommendations from the new Garda Inspectorate follow the criticism of the handling of the Abbeylara siege.

John Carthy was shot dead in April 2000 by armed gardaí, following a siege at his home near Abbeylara in County Longford.

Today Kathleen O'Toole, the head of the Garda Inspectorate, issued a set of recommendations on how sieges should be dealt with in the future.

They include specialised training for senior gardaí, the use of mental health experts to advise negotiating teams, and the setting up of a new team to deal with such situations.

It's suggested such a team would be deployed to the scene of any siege immediately, rather than calling in the armed emergency response unit.

Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy said he had set up a group to oversee the implementation of the inspectorate's recommendations.