Gardaí have arrested a third man in connection with the foiled extortion attempt in Cork last night.
Gardaí say that two of the three men arrested have links with the Provisional IRA.
At this stage gardaí believe the men's actions were for their own personal gain and not part of any IRA-sanctioned operation.
The third man being held in Cork is not thought to have any subversive connections.
Woman held at gunpoint
In last night's incident two masked men burst into the home of Gary and Katie O'Donovan at Mount Oval Village in Rochestown at around 8.30pm. They held Mrs O'Donovan at gunpoint.
They were looking for her husband, who runs a chain of off-licences in Cork city, but he was not at home at the time.
When Mr O'Donovan arrived home at around 10pm he was beaten, tied up and had a cloak placed over his head. He was held downstairs by one of his attackers while another held his wife, who is six months pregnant, upstairs. The couple's four children slept through the ordeal.
The men are believed to have demanded money from Mr O'Donovan and are thought to have been waiting until 7am this morning to bring him to a warehouse where they thought cash might be held.
However, he escaped during the night and raised the alarm after one of his captors fell asleep.
Gardaí from throughout the city arrived at the scene and arrested two men as they tried to escape. Two firearms, a revolver and a stun-gun were recovered.
Call for law amendment
In response to the incident, Fine Gael has called for the law against hostage-taking to be extended to domestic cases.
The party’s justice spokesperson, Jim O'Keeffe, claimed that current legislation on hostage-taking only covers incidents with an international dimension under Section 9 of the Criminal Terrorist Offences Act 2005.
Mr O’Keefe said that now that hostage taking has become a growing trend, the criminals involved must be hit hard and soon.
