The Government is considering transferring some Central Criminal Court murder trials to Limerick to ease pressure on gardaí in the city.
The measure was announced yesterday by the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, after he held a crisis meeting with the Garda Commissioner, Mr Pat Byrne, to discuss the ongoing Limerick gang feud.
Limerick Chief Supt Gerry Kelly has expressed concern to the Minister that a large number of the city's detectives will have to spend large amounts of time in Dublin in the next two years giving evidence in trials relating to recent killings in the city. This, he said, will drain much-needed resources.
Yesterday Mr McDowell revealed that he was contemplating whether it would be possible or appropriate to move the Central Criminal Court to Limerick, so as not to reduce the strength of the gardaí.
He rejected allegations that the worsening criminal crisis in Limerick has been caused by Garda shortages.
"We have increased the number there from 420 to over 460 in recent years." he said.
Mr McDowell said the issue in Limerick was not numbers of gardaí. "I think that that is a facile view. It is not a question of numbers. It is a question of underlying problems." he added.
Mr McDowell also defended an offer by the Minister of State for Justice, Limerick East TD Mr Willie O'Dea, to mediate a peace deal between the feuding families.
The Minister said Mr O'Dea had acted as "any person of political prominence" would have done.
"He is doing this as a local TD. He is not doing it in his capacity as Minister of State at the Department of Justice."
Mr McDowell said he had been fully briefed about the crime situation in Limerick, and the role played by organised gangs long before the Ryans' kidnapping. The Minister discussed the worsening crisis in Limerick yesterday morning with the Garda Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner, Mr Noel Conroy.
Afterwards Mr McDowell said the gardaí would take every step to maintain order and to re-establish a sense of trust amongst the citizens of the city that there would be an end to slayings, kidnappings and threats to kill
The gardaí have deployed members of the Emergency Response Unit in the city amid fears that "a spiral of killings" would be provoked by the Kelly murder.
Mr McDowell stressed yesterday that the ERU deployment was not an indication that Garda numbers in Limerick are below strength.
"It is a mobile force, which is able to go anywhere in this State at a moment's notice."
Mr McDowell said he was relieved the two Ryan brothers had been found.
However, he said he was horrified and angered by the latest killing in Limerick.
He dismissed allegations by the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors that Garda numbers have fallen to dangerously low levels in Limerick over the last year.
"I am absolutely satisfied that the necessary resources have been directed towards these crimes. I have reinforced my willingness to pursue any other measure that would assist the gardaí," he told the Dáil.
He urged the public not to ignore the killing of Mr Kieran Keane or the Ryans' kidnapping because of their alleged links with organised gangs.
"Just as no one is above the law, nobody is beneath the law either.
"Because somebody may be associated with some group or organisation it does not mean that their life is cheaper in the eyes of the law and that the gravity of any offence committed against them is lessened," he said.