Garda chief says no to arming rank and file

Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy today insisted that uniformed officers will remain unarmed as his rank and file gathered to debate the divisive issue.

Most delegates speaking at the Garda Representative Association (GRA) annual conference came out against any proposal for ordinary gardai on the street to carry guns.

And despite calls from one Garda leader for motorcycle officers to be issued with weapons, Commissioner Murphy said he had no plans for any such changes.

“I’m committed to maintaining a uniformed, unarmed presence on our streets, in our cities, in our towns,” he said.

The Commissioner said he was glad of the debate that has raged within the force since the shooting of unarmed motorcycle officer Paul Sherlock last year.

“I’m glad of any debate on any issue that would clear the air,” he said.

But he was adamant that he would not be changing the historic policy of an unarmed, uniformed garda force that has been the case since 1922.

“The first commissioner spoke about how the Garda Siochána will get their authority not from force of arms or numbers but from the will of the people,” he said.

“I, as the 18th Commissioner, am committed to the same ideals.”

Commissioner Murphy told delegates there were 3,500 armed members – almost a quarter of the force – and that his focus was on giving them the best training.

He said special units would be available for trouble hotspots like Limerick and Finglas, north Dublin, where he had recently deployed the force’s elite Emergency Response Unit.