Gardaí had to take a suspected shoplifter into custody in a farm trailer because he was too big for a patrol car, it was claimed today.
Solicitor and former Fine Gael TD Charlie Flanagan claimed the man arrested for allegedly stealing from a Tesco store would not fit into a Garda car.
The officers - who have no proper public order van - tied the suspect to a hired trailer before parading him through Portarlington, Co Laois, towards the Garda station, Mr Flanagan said.
Mr Flanagan said a crowd gathered in disbelief as the farm trailer episode unfolded outside his legal practice.
"The suspect was about 6ft 3in and around 19 stone. They used a bit of rope to tie him to the trailer to keep him steady on the journey to the garda station," he said.
"Last year I highlighted the fact that gardaí in Portarlington had to take a taxi to get to a crime scene because no Garda car was available," Mr Flanagan said.
"It was a spectacle. It would be a joke if it wasn't so serious."
Mr Flanagan, a former member of the Dáil for Laois/Offaly, said the incident occurred not long after gardaí in the town had to take a taxi to a crime scene.
He said the trailer incident was "all the more remarkable" given that Portlaoise is the Laois/Offaly Divisional headquarters.
"Laois gardaí are so under-resourced that the 120 members in Portlaoise have one bulletproof vest between them."
Mr Flanagan said he was only now breaking his silence on the incident, which happened last October, because of his frustration with the Government.
"I didn't raise this before because I wanted to give the justice minister an opportunity to rectify matters here," he said.
"But he came to the town last Friday and he didn't even visit the garda station." The Fine Gael politician said he contacted Garda headquarters about officers being forced to use a taxi and was told it was a one-off.
Minister for Justice Michael McDowell today denied the force was under-resourced, insisting insisting there had been an unprecedented level of investment of more than €1.3 billion in policing this year.
Speaking at a Garda graduation ceremony at Templemore, Mr McDowell said the Government was committed to improving the standard of Garda stations and facilities throughout the State.
He said the National Development Plan published recently allocated €353 million towards the provision of "appropriate support facilities" for the Garda
"The plan will make available the funding required to address these needs, through the continued development of IT and communications infrastructure and equipment, as well as the additional accommodation requirements as the force expands towards 15,000. In addition, funding of €260 million has been allocated for the refurbishment of Garda stations," Mr McDowell said.
"The biggest ever Garda building programme is under way. €112 million will have been spent on Garda stations by the Office of Public Works between 2005 and the end of this year."
Mr McDowell also said the Government had authorised a further expansion of the force to reach a strength of 15,000 and had approved the immediate recruitment of 300 civilian staff to release that number of gardaí from administrative duties.
The Minister said 1,200 vehicles - more than half the Garda fleet - were replaced last year and more would be bought in the coming months.
"If further resources are required, Government will make them available. The Garda Commissioner has said already he has enough resources to do the job," he insisted.
A Garda spokeswoman said force is examining the issues raised by Mr Flanagan.
Additional reporting: PA