The country has reached a watershed in relation to gun crime and the time has come for the Government to use all its powers possible to fight the crime scourge, the Opposition parties said last night.
Fine Gael justice spokesman Jim O'Keeffe said he had rarely seen such outrage from the public following the killing of apprentice plumber Anthony Campbell in Finglas.
"What we have been getting are empty promises. We now have to mobilise all the powers of the State to end the killings and shootings," he said.
Labour Party justice spokesman Brendan Howlin said of 21 murders in the last year only two people had been charged, so statistically all the indications were that no-one would be brought to justice in relation to the latest shootings.
Mr Howlin said the leadership and the determination shown after the shooting dead of Veronica Guerin was needed now. He said the latest shootings were a wake-up call.
During heated exchanges in the Dáil, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said it was time for the Government to get serious about the problem.
There had been ample warning with evidence of people driving on the M50 with flak jackets firing machine guns across lanes, innocent people being gunned down and people being assassinated in broad daylight.
Minister for Justice Michael McDowell insisted yesterday that the Garda is doing its utmost to bring to justice the killers of Mr Campbell and drug dealer Martin "Marlo" Hyland.
The Garda had a number of leads to follow in the case but the criminal justice process was balanced heavily towards ensuring that there was no wrongful conviction, he said.
Loopholes in the law and the fact that all of the assumptions in the law make it more difficult to secure a conviction is extremely frustrating for the Garda, he added. "But nonetheless we do operate in a society under the rule of law."
Mr McDowell said he had introduced laws in recent times pertaining to people withdrawing statements, to organised crime and to mandatory minimum sentences for both drugs and firearms.
"All that can be done within the rule of law is being done," Mr McDowell added. He described Mr Campbell as a totally innocent man. "He was in the local football team. He was someone who was never in trouble with the gardaí."