Former Justice Minister Alan Shatter says the Criminal Assets Bureau has a greater role to play in dealing with criminal gangs involved in rural crime.
Up to 1,500 people attended a meeting on rural crime in Thurles, Co Tipperary on Thursday night, calling for increased garda resources, stronger trespass laws and electronic tagging of convicted criminals.
Alan Shatter told Talking Point with Sarah Carey that while extra gardaí should be recruited as the public finances improve, the CAB should target assets accumulated by criminal gangs.
"The Criminal Assets Bureau has an enormous job to play in this area," Deputy Shatter argued.
"CAB is uniquely placed to target gangs who have clearly accumulated a substantial amount of visible wealth, and to take appropriate action against them. And I think that should happen," he said.
You can listen back to more of Deputy Shatter's comments on the subject of rural crime below:
