Taoiseach defends garda resources after gangland killings

The Taoiseach has defended the resourcing of gardaí after two pals were gunned down just hours apart in brutal gangland-style executions in Dublin.

Leo Varadakar said while gardaí now have unprecedented resources, the latest killings prove the need for ongoing garda vigilance against the threat of gangland violence which he said never goes away.

Speaking in Cork this morning, Mr Varadkar said the Garda Commissioner has briefed the Justice Minister about the killings of Sean Little, 22, and Jordan Davis, 24, within hours of each other.

Davis was shot dead in Darndale yesterday afternoon in north Dublin while pushing a buggy. Little’s body was found beside a burning car in a laneway near Balbriggan in north Co Dublin late on Tuesday night.

Mr Varadkar said he spoke to Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan this morning about the killings.

“The information that we have is that these killings are most likely related to drugs and organised crime and are not linked to the other feuds - the Kinihan feud and the Drogheda feud,” he said.

As a government, our focus is entirely and very much on increasing garda resources.

“The gardaí now have unprecedented resources - a budget of €1.8bn a year, and we have increased the size of the garda force to 14,000 back to where it was before the economic crash.

“And we are going to increase it again to 15,000 - investing not just in gardaí but also in equipment, in ICT, in armed support units, and all that is very much underway.

“The gardaí have had a lot of success when it comes to dealing with organised crimes and the drug trade in particular.

“There have been numerous drugs seizures in recent weeks and they have had a lot of success in places like Limerick and in Dublin’s north-east inner city.

“But it’s not something that ever goes away and that’s why we need to continue to be vigilant, to continue to support the gardaí in the work they are doing.

“That’s why the gardaí this year have unprecedented resources - a budget of €1.8bn, 14,000 gardaí back up to where we were before the crash, investment in ICT and equipment, in the armed support units, and we need more of that now.

“And as long as we continue to manage the economy well, we will be able to continue to invest both in the gardaí, so we can respond to crime, but also in prevention, by making sure that there are more opportunities, particularly in those communities which are often most affected by crimes, such as those including my own constituency.”