“Staff noticed the gun and thankfully notified gardaí straight away. The outcome could have been a lot different if the weapon was picked up by the wrong person”
The Irish Independent has learned that the detective, who works in a unit tasked with protecting Government ministers, was on duty on the day of the incident this week.
The temporary loss of the handgun is being treated seriously by senior gardaí who are attempting to establish the exact circumstances surrounding the matter.
It’s understood the officer has been stood down from close protection duties while the disciplinary investigation process is ongoing.
Gardaí confirmed that a” senior garda officer is conducting a disciplinary investigation into this matter.”
It’s understood the armed garda was shopping in Dublin city centre on Monday and, while in one store, used the changing room facilities.
The garda then left the shop and when a staff member later entered the dressing room they found a handgun inside.
Local gardaí were notified of the incident and the detective, who in the meantime had realised the gun was missing, returned to the store to retrieve the weapon.
Garda Headquarters were immediately notified of the incident and are now carrying out their own inquiries.
Sources said that the matter is being treated with extreme seriousness given that an official garda firearm was temporarily misplaced in a busy city centre store.
“Staff noticed the gun and thankfully notified gardaí straight away. The outcome could have been a lot different if the weapon was picked up by the wrong person,” one source said.
“There a protocols around booking in your weapon when tending to personal matters while on your working tour, and this will be one aspect looked at”.
Every Government minister currently receives protection by a trained armed detective, who act as both their driver and close protection officer.
Previously only the Taoiseach, Tánaiste, Attorney General and Justice Minister received a garda protection officer.
However, in 2022, this was expanded to include to other members of Cabinet due to an increase in threat levels on them.
In a separate incident relating to the temporary loss of an official firearm in 2018, the Garda watchdog carried out a public interest inquiry after a sub-machine gun was discovered on a Dublin street.
The weapon was found by a member of the public on Harcourt Street that July and later handed in to a garda station.
The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) found that the weapon had been properly placed in the boot of a garda car which opened as the vehicle exited the garda station onto a ramp.
It ruled in a report the following year that the two gardaí involved should not face sanctions.
