Varadkar offers Drogheda gardaí additional resources

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said he has spoken with gardaí in Drogheda to offer assistance such as CCTV monitoring and additional resources in light of the murder of teenager Keane Mulready-Woods.

Mr Varadkar travelled to Drogheda to meet senior gardaí in the town investigating the feud between two criminal gangs and to receive an update on the investigation.

Speaking in Birr yesterday afternoon, he said: "I met with the gardaí alongside Mr Flanagan for over an hour today. Initially they gave us a confidential briefing on the situation and the actions they're taking to bring the perpetrators to justice. Because it was confidential I think you'll understand why I can't divulge the details.

“And then we had a discussion on Garda resources in order to offer them any additional assistance that they needed, and in particular the kind of thing we talked about was getting the CCTV in the town working again and also making sure that they’re supplemented with additional resources from other parts of the country.”

‘What happens if I get sick?’ Health the core issue for Waterford voters

---

‘You’re on your own down here after 5pm’

---

The Irish Times view on the economy: questions for the parties to answer

---

Election 2020: Will Saturday polling day boost turnout?

---

Meanwhile the Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan has criticised a Fianna Fáil proposal to reform criminal legislation to deal with gangland figures in the same way members of the Provisional IRA were tackled

Stronger laws would be introduced so the “belief” of a Garda chief superintendent that an individual was involved in gangland crime could be used as evidence in criminal trials, the party’s justice spokesman Jim O’Callaghan said.

Mr Flanagan said that “at no stage has any issue being raised of a type that Fianna Fáil are now raising”.

“This is ill thought out. I will examine the matter if it’s workable. And if it’s constitutional, we can have a look at it.”

Mr Varadkar said that gardaí “say to me that they they have adequate laws, we don’t need a new law against murder or new law against drug dealing, or a new law against directing a criminal organization because those things are already against the law, and what we need is convictions.”

Of the Fianna Fáil contention that Fine Gael has not taken crime seriously, Mr Varadkar said "they wouldn't they, but let's not forget that they are the party that stopped garda recruitment and really denuded gardai all over the country of resources."