Barry Ward

It's not acceptable.

It is shocking.

I can't imagine what the local community are feeling.

And we are incredibly lucky that when the gun was discharged that nobody was injured.

But I will disagree with Rory in two things.

First of all, it's not in any way tolerated.

It's not because it's in one particular area that it's tolerated.

It's not tolerated at all.

Drug dealing?

Well, no, yes, absolutely.

If the guards are aware of something, I would expect them to act on it.

And it's not the case that drug dealing, open drug dealing, is restricted to any one particular area.

It exists across the country.

And the Gardaí do take action.

I know my own area have liaised with the superintendent on specific activities, and they respond to that all the time when it's reported to them.

But the broader point that this...

absolutely isolated incident is as a result of a lack of community policing or a lack of guard activity, I don't think stands up.

As you said yourself, this was actually an act of pursuit of the person when the gun was thrown away.

And that, by the way, is very common when the Gardaí are pursuing people, whether it's drugs or a firearm, they will throw them away in order not to be apprehended with that item on their possession.

And that's a risk involved in pursuing people.