Gardaí are acquiring a specially trained sniffer dog for the detection of minute blood traces in an effort to identify murder-case evidence that may currently go undetected.
The dog will have the ability to detect traces of blood so minute they cannot be picked up using modern forensic techniques.
Detectives investigating the murder of Waterford woman Meg Walsh last month used four dogs brought in from the UK to help them find tiny traces of blood in her house, where they believe she was killed.
The dogs were also brought to locations where gardaí believe the dead woman's remains may have been dumped into the river Suir.
Samples have been taken from areas identified by the dogs and these are undergoing laboratory examination.
The animals were accompanied here by their handlers from the Welsh and Yorkshire police forces. However, gardaí have now acquired their own blood dog which is being trained in the UK. The dog will be used in murder and missing persons inquiries from the New Year.
In the case of murder inquiries, blood dogs can be used to identify locations where a victim was killed or where a body, murder weapon or bloodstained clothes were stored or washed.
In a missing persons inquiry, a search by a blood dog of locations associated with the person can lead to the early detection of evidence which could suggest foul play.
Such detections can provide vital early breakthroughs not possible without using a dog.
The animals have also been used to identify vehicles in which dead bodies have been transported. Blood dogs have used by police forces all over the UK and by the FBI in the US.
There are 26 dogs in the Garda Dog Unit, 14 of which are general purpose dogs trained in public order duties, tracking for missing persons, criminals and articles contaminated by human scent. Six dogs are trained in the detection of drugs and firearms residue. Five have been trained in explosives detection and one dog has been trained in detecting the presence of dead bodies. Two other general purpose dogs are being trained and will join the unit next year.
