Garda Emergency Response Unit

Garda Emergency Response Unit Irish: Aonad Práinnfhreagartha
Abbreviation	ERU
Official patch of the Garda ERU
Agency overview
Formed	December 15, 1977as the Special Task Force (STF)
Legal personality	Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
National agency	Republic of Ireland
Governing body	Department of Justice and Equality
General nature	Law enforcement Civilian police
Specialist jurisdiction	Counter terrorism, special weapons and tactics, protection of VIPs.
Operational structure
Headquarters	Harcourt Street, Dublin (D2) 53°20′03.5″N 6°15′50.3″W / 53.334306°N 6.263972°W / 53.334306; -6.263972
Operators	~ 100
Parent agency	Special Detective Unit Crime & Security Branch Garda Síochána
Notables Programmes Queen Elizabeth II's state visit to the Republic of Ireland 2013 Presidency of the Council of the European Union 39th G8 summit Significant incidents Shooting of John Carthy

The Emergency Response Unit (ERU) (Irish: Aonad Práinnfhreagartha) is the premier armed tactical operations unit of the Garda Síochána, the national police force of Ireland. The unit is a section of the forces' Special Detective Unit (SDU), under the Crime and Security Branch (CSB).

The Garda ERU provides the highest tier of firearms response to Irish law enforcement, specialising in weapons tactics, counter-terrorism, execution of high-risk missions, crisis negotiation, hostage rescue and close protection, among other roles. The unit was formed in 1977 as the "Special Task Force" to assist ordinary members of the force in extraordinary situations. The ERU regularly trains with the Irish Army Ranger Wing (ARW), the country's military special operations forces, sharing facilities and equipment. The unit's headquarters are based in Harcourt Street, Dublin City, with a detachment of over 100 full-time officers.

The Emergency Response Unit is responsible for handling the following operations in service of the Garda Síochána;

In addition to these roles, the Garda ERU has airborne capabilities (helicopters) provided by the Garda Air Support Unit (GASU) and Irish Air Corps when required, seaborne capabilities provided by the Garda Water Support Unit when needed,dog handlers (working with the Garda Dog Support Unit),sniper teams,paramedics, hostage negotiators (Garda Hostage Negotiation Section/HNS) and psychologists.