Fine Gael justice spokesman Charlie Flanagan has accused the Government of allowing gangland crime to spiral out of control.
He told delegates at the Fine Gael conference in Killarney that since the party's ardfheis last year, 17 people had been "shot down in cold blood, seven of whom were killed in the first six weeks of this year alone''.
Mr Flanagan said that a Fine Gael government would introduce a minimum mandatory sentence of 25 years for gangland murder.
Criminals would be prevented from running operations from jail by introducing body-scanners in all prisons to prevent the smuggling of mobile phones and drugs.
A Fine Gael government would also fill all senior Garda vacancies to provide the leadership needed to catch ruthless criminals, said Mr Flanagan.
The level of community policing would also be increased as a means of improving relations on the ground and of gathering intelligence, he added.
