There have been calls for increased resources to trace missing persons, following yesterday's identification of the body of a 31-year-old Dublin man who was found last February, more than 2½ years after he went missing.
Michael Murphy, from Thomastown Court, Sallynoggin, south Dublin, was last seen alive on June 17th, 2002. His body was found near Killiney railway station, just a few hundred yards from the place of his last sighting.
Gardaí last night confirmed that, after an extensive DNA examination in Britain, they could confirm that the remains were those of Mr Murphy. He was found atop cliffs in Killiney by workmen excavating the area.
Gardaí said an inquest would take place shortly in an effort to establish the circumstances of Mr Murphy's death.
Last night there were calls for an increase in resources for gardaí involved in locating missing persons.
"In particular, there should be better investment in the canine area. I understand gardaí do not have access to cadaver dogs, which are specially trained to locate bodies on land or water quickly," said Fr Aquinas Duffy of www.missing.ws, a website set up for the families of missing Irish people.
"Forensic labs here need more resources. At present, cases are sent to England so there is often a wait of eight months or so while the DNA matching takes place," Fr Duffy said.