The Justice Minister says gardai aren't going to be standing on the corner of the streets of Dublin with guns in their hands.
It comes after some criticism of plans to deploy more gardai to tackle crime in the city centre, including members of the Armed Response Unit.
Helen McEntee says armed gardai would only be called in, if a situation escalated.
''I suppose just to clarify we are not going to have armed gardai standing on the corner of out streets. That's not what we are talking about here. The Armed Response Unit has always supported Operation Citizen. They are there should a knife incident occur, should there be a threat to life, should something get out of hand.''
Meanwhile, business owners in the city will meet with senior gardai today to discuss tackling crime
The organisation Dublin Town says its members are concerned about an increase in shop-lifting, aggression and anti-social behaviour.
It comes after it emerged more gardai, including the Armed Support Unit, will be deployed following recent high profile attacks.
CEO of Dublin Town, Richard Guiney says a long-term plan is needed.
''There are issues that we need to address but thankfully it's not at a point where we need a continuous armed presence on the streets. The additional resources that are going to be deployed in the city centre are very welcome. I also think the Public Order Unit have a significant role to play.''
