Garda firearms training is so bad it is putting members of the force at risk, a senior representative official said yesterday.
General secretary of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors Joe Dirwan told delegates at the AGSI annual conference there should be a smaller number of armed gardaí, but those who carry firearms should be much better trained than at present.
"In the Garda code there is more detail on how to clean a firearm than how to manage a firearms-related incident," he told the closing session of the conference in Co Kerry.
Mr Dirwan said: "A detective or members in plain clothes driving family saloon cars armed with .38 (guns) and a bullet-proof sports coat is now expected to deal with criminals, sometimes high on drugs, armed with modern high-calibre weapons and driving top of the range high-power cars."
He said armed members of the force were using "obsolete weapons". The Uzi sub-machine-gun used by gardaí was a military weapon capable of discharging 600 rounds per minute. This did not fit with the Garda's policy of using minimum force.
There were no strategies in place in relation to the command and management of firearms incidents.
Mr Dirwan said it was time Minister for Justice Michael McDowell and Commissioner Noel Conroy recognised that, in respect of firearms training, An Garda Síochána was far behind international best practice.
He was speaking in opposition to a motion, which was remitted, calling for more members of the force to be trained in the use of firearms.
He said a reduction in the number carrying firearms and an improvement in weapons training were badly needed.
Apart from members of the Emergency Response Unit (ERU) no members of the force were trained in the use of firearms during the hours of darkness.
Similarly, apart from ERU members, no gardaí were trained on how to intercept vehicles when an armed situation arose.
Training needed to be lengthened to considerably more than one week and refresher courses should be offered regularly to members.
"This could be the opportune time for members to question why they volunteer to carry a firearm when Garda management does not provide the basic necessities to protect their lives and those of the community," Mr Dirwan told delegates.
"We should remember if things go wrong it is the individual member that will find themselves in the dock, and that excuse about lack of training may not be enough to ensure their liberty and save their careers."
The conference also heard calls for more medical personnel to be made available to gardaí when needed.
Sgt Pat Joe McCarthy, Dublin south central division, said there were only three doctors available at any one time for over 40 Garda stations in Dublin.
This was inadequate.
"Medical practitioners are being legally intimidated by being summoned to court and inconvenienced. Other medical practitioners have also been viciously assaulted while treating or examining suspects in custody." Doctors who made themselves available to An Garda Síochána performed beyond the call of duty.
However, younger practitioners were not interested in the "hassle" of being on call around the clock, seven days per week.