Senior Garda managers will have to account for their record on gangland crime in their respective areas as part of a new drive across the country to tackle increasingly active armed gangs, it has emerged.
The move comes as new crime figures for last year revealed significant increases for murder, armed crime and drug dealing in 2005.
Minister for Justice Michael McDowell has said the force's six assistant commissioners with responsibility for the regions would be responsible for devising and executing strategies against organised criminals.
Progress would be gauged under new plans to publish crime statistics every quarter for each region.
"I think it's important that it's not just the Minister standing up taking the flak," said Mr McDowell. "The whole Garda management has to on a region by region basis and on a division by division basis work out what contribution it's making to the fight against crime."
He was speaking at the Garda Training College, Templemore, Co Tipperary, after the publication of crime statistics for last year.
Headline or serious crime increased by 3 per cent in the full 12-month period but unexpectedly rose by 10 per cent in the last three months of last year.
In the full year the number of murders increased by 46 per cent to 54 cases, 19 of which were gangland killings.
The number of drug-dealing detections increased by 20 per cent and firearms possessions rose by 16 per cent. Mr McDowell said last year had been a "bad year" in the fight against gangland crime.
However, while figures for drug dealing detections and firearm possessions were up, this was as much an indication of increased Garda success as increased levels of criminal activity.
Operation Anvil, which was established last summer to tackle armed gangs in Dublin, had proven "quite successful".
Not only had firearm seizures increased but robberies of cash in transit vans had "plummeted".
"The [ Garda] commissioner has met his assistant commissioners with regional responsibilities and they are determined to put in place a strategic approach in the coming months to counter the underlying trend in those [ gangland] figures for last year."
Of the 127 gardaí who passed out at Templemore yesterday, 58 are being assigned to Garda stations in Dublin suburbs most affected by gangland crime. Fourteen of the new recruits are to be stationed in Blanchardstown station, which deals with more gang-related activity than any other Garda station in the State. Referring to the increase in many categories of serious sexual offences such as rapes of both males and females, Mr McDowell said policing levels were not an issue. It was impossible to put Garda patrols "down every dark alley way or in every bedroom" where attacks took place. The Department of Justice was conducting research to determine why many victims of sexual assaults did not report them to gardaí. A number of other issues would also be explored such as the use of evidence in court.
However, he conceded "worrying trends" had emerged in relation to serious sexual offences.
While serious crime had increased by 2.78 per cent last year this should be seen in the context of a growing population.
"These figures are in absolute numbers, and on a crime per head basis most of them are going down."