More than 85 per cent of gangland gun murders committed in the Republic since 1998 have failed to result in a conviction, it has emerged.
New figures released by the Department of Justice reveal only one in three cases even makes it to court. However, when gardaí have gathered enough evidence to progress a gun murder case to the courts, convictions are only secured in 40 per cent of cases.
The unprecedented new year-on-year comparative data also show that while the gun murder rate has fluctuated since the late 1990s, the overall trend indicates an increase in the frequency of such attacks.
Minister for Justice Michael McDowell as recently as this week insisted the fight against crime was better resourced than ever. However the new information, which was released to the Labour Party, is likely to confirm concerns that a gun culture has emerged here in recent years with armed gangs believing they can act with impunity.
Labour's spokesman on justice, Brendan Howlin TD, said gardaí "are not winning the battle" against armed gangs despite the success of some operations.
"Clearly the message that the gang leaders will draw from this is that if you kill, or order the killings of others, there is little chance that you will face prosecution and even less chance of being convicted," he said.
"We have seen the emergence of a new breed of vicious criminals who have easy access to deadly weapons and are prepared to use them."
In the near nine years since the beginning of 1998 to October 1st last, 113 people lost their lives in gun murders in the Republic.
The vast majority, though not all, of these attacks were gangland style killings where either the victims or perpetrators, or both, were involved in the drugs trade.
Of the 113 total killings, just 16 have resulted in convictions. That represents a conviction rate of 14 per cent meaning 86 per cent of gun murderers are escaping unpunished.
The 21 gun murders committed last year was the highest level in the nine-year period under review. There were 20 in 2003 and to October 1st this year there were 16 gun killings.
Of the 113 murders committed 56 were detected, meaning gardaí believe they know the identity of those responsible. Proceedings were commended in 35 cases and convictions secured in 16.
Garda sources said that while just one conviction was secured in respect of last year's killings, this figure is expected to rise as ongoing investigations proceed and more cases come to court.
The same sources said it was likely that a smaller number of convictions would also result from the killings so far this year and for some historical cases.
Mr McDowell said the Garda authorities had informed him gun murders "tend to have lower conviction rates" than other murders.
Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy had assured him the "highest priority" was given to the investigation of gun murders.
However, he could not comment on decisions taken in such cases by the Director of Public Prosecutions or members of the judiciary as both were independent of Government.