More than 1,200 licensed guns have fallen into the hands of criminals in the Republic over the past five years, it was revealed tonight.
Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern tonight insisted it was not just politicians and gardaí who were responsible for taking weapons off the streets.
"The fact that young people were involved is extremely worrying, not just from a policing point of view, but from a societal point of view," he said. "We have to ask ourselves how do these young people get these guns.
"This is not just a question for politicians but all sectors of society and we must question ourselves as to what kind of society we want."
Official records from the Department of Justice show 1,263 registered firearms - including 27 handguns - have been stolen since 2003. Only 373 have been recovered.
Sinn Féin's justice spokesman Aengus Ó Snodaigh, who obtained the figures in a written Dáil question, said they underscored the need for a tightening up of gun laws.
"We need to face up to the fact that Irish society is facing a growing crisis particularly when we realise that young teenagers are carrying guns," he said.
Mr Ahern said he has been fighting against the surging gun culture - whether licensed or unlicensed -over the past few months. He revealed new figures from the Garda's Operation Anvil against organised crime which show that 1,192 firearms have been seized since May 2005.
The long-running investigation has also seen 126 murder arrests.
"We are never going to totally eradicate crime that is the reality," said Mr Ahern. "What we have to do is give the resources to those whose job it is to tackle crime and prevent it happening."
"In fairness to the Gardaí, while there have been a number of high profile cases there are also a lot of very low profile cases and situations which do not come to court where they have stopped crime from happening."