Operation Anvil - Gun crime not confined to capital

It is not beyond time that Justice Minister Michael McDowell did something positive about the rising gun culture in Dublin in which arms seem to have become an almost daily feature on the streets.

Yesterday’s announcement that Mr McDowell is to provide €6.5 million to back the gardaí’s Operation Anvil is to be welcomed.

People could be forgiven for imagining that the gardaí were losing out to the serious criminals in the face of the growing emergence of firearms which seem to have become a staple in crime.