Ryan brothers, Hunt continues in Limerick
Fisherman's Hill
Troops concentrate on wooded area
Michael McDowell has said whatever resources are required to bring Eddie and Kieran Ryan back to their families will be provided.
The Minister for Justice said there were never any circumstances in which it was legitimate to imprison someone else and to torture their family in this way.
The Minister said he hoped the two brothers were alive and that those holding them captive realised how insane and cruel the strategy they had adopted was.
More troops search for missing brothers
More troops have been employed on the ground to help in the search for missing brothers, who were abducted four days ago.
Over 100 troops are now backing up gardaí as the search continues.
Troops from Limerick's Sarsfield barracks have been joined by extra troops from Clonmel.
The troops are concentrating on a country and wooded area near a townland known as Fisherman's Hill, which is about seven miles outside Limerick City.
This may have been an exit route taken by the men's abductors as they made their way out of the Ballynanty area in Limerick city in a large black car last Thursday night.
Wet and misty weather conditions yesterday and again today have made the search very difficult.
There has still been no trace of the two brothers, or any news to either the gardaí or their family about their whereabouts or wellbeing.
There are fears now that the Ryan brothers might not be seen again alive.
Minister acknowledges Limerick gardaí 'under pressure'
The Minister for Justice has said he is satisfied that there have been peculiar aspects of criminality in Limerick which are worrying.
Michael McDowell said he believed there had been much 'ghettoisation' and a failure to mix housing properly, to achieve communities where there was a fair cross section of society.
The Minister said problems had been concentrated in particular areas of Limerick and that the Gardaí had had to take special steps in relation to this.
He was speaking following a statement from Garda Headquarters which acknowledged that the force in Limerick was under severe pressure and that more officers would be sent there if senior Gardaí felt that was necessary.
The Association of Garda Sargeants and Inspectors said earlier that the crime level in the city was in danger of getting out of control.
At their annual AGM at the weekend, the Limerick Branch of the AGSI called for a dramatic increase in garda resources to help deal with the escalating crime problem in the city.
George Maybury, General Secretary of the AGSI, said criminals were taking advantage of staff shortages in Limerick and that there were often no Gardaí to send to crime scenes.
The Association said serious crime increased by 22% in 2001 and that the figures for last year were worse. It pointed to statistics that show Limerick has the highest number of violent deaths in the country - three times more than Dublin's north inner city.
It said the problem was clearly illustrated by the recent mugging in broad daylight of the young woman who was the star of a campaign to portray a good image of the city.
'No bottomless pit': HQ
But Garda spokesman, Superintendent John Farrelly, stressed today that Garda resources were limited and that the Commissioner had to prioritise. He said that manpower and resources were not a bottomless pit.
The allocation of resources is a matter for the Commissioner, but the strength of the force is the responsibility of the Minister for Justice and the Government. The Government has so far made no moves on recruiting the 2,000 gardaí promised in the Programme for Government.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio this morning, Junior Minister at the Department of Justice, Willie O'Dea, said resources were not the problem. He said Gardaí knew the culprits but found difficulty in gathering sufficient evidence to mount a successful prosecution.
