A new Garda unit has been established in the midlands to tackle organised crime gangs.
The armed 24-member team will operate in the Westmeath, Laois/Offaly, Meath, Kildare and Wicklow Divisions of the force and will be headquartered at Mullingar.
The move follows several high profile robberies and other criminal incidents in the midlands in recent months.
Assistant Garda Commissioner Dermot Jennings said that as part of getting the public used to the sight of armed Gardaí, the unit will undertake “ordinary” policing tasks, and will back up members of the force on a variety of occasions. But when the time comes for the squad to be armed, they will be ready for action “in seconds”.
However, whilst the unit adds to an already “significant number” of armed gardaí within the force, the Assistant Commissioner does not see the establishment of further units throughout the country as a move towards arming every rank and file Garda.
“Not by any means is this a step towards arming the entire force,” he said.
“We have always had armed people in the organisation and in the detective branch. This is a unit which will operate ‘in the main’ in uniform; it’s only if the issue arises that would demand an armed response, that they have the capability to arm themselves within seconds and contain a situation.”