Stockists of gas masks in the State are reporting high consumer demand.
Mr Dominic Duggan of Army Bargains, off Capel Street, Dublin, said 200 gas masks from the former Eastern bloc countries would arrive this morning. He said he had taken deposits on some already, with 30 people having paid the full £19.99 price in advance.
Mr Duggan said other masks had sold out since people first began discussing possible attacks this week. He said 90 per cent of people bought the masks for themselves, with 10 per cent sending them to friends in Canada and the US.
A spokeswoman for Kilkenny Army Store said the phonelines were constantly busy. "People seem to be genuinely scared. It scared me to see them," she said. The army and navy store in Galway said it had a small stock of masks left.