The man and the woman arrested for the arson attack in Co Waterford that caused the death of four people (two of which were children) are believed to be in the lower ranks of a criminal gang.
The deaths of Philip and Kim English and two of their four children in Co Waterford have spurred on conversations about how criminal gangs carry out intimidation tactics.
While the victims had no involvement whatsoever in drugs or crime, the families say they were attacked because someone known to them owed money for drugs.
Speaking to The Pat Kenny Show, Stephen Breen, Crime Editor for The Sun, explained how these intimidation tactics work, and how criminal gangs use "people they see as expendable" to carry them out.
He said: "Well, it's like many cases of drug-related intimidation that happen across Ireland where you have a criminal network or a criminal gang who are the dominant figures in areas in which they sell drugs.
"So they have been selling their product in different estates, you know, different areas. So they source the drugs. They then reach out to other individuals connected to their network.
"And when they sell the drugs and then people don't pay up, obviously they incur a drug debt. So rather than going out themselves and dealing in intimidation, they recruit other individuals to do that for them.
"And that could be individuals who owe a drug debt themselves. That could be individuals who have offered their services to these various networks.
"But it's very unlikely that you will get those leaders of local criminal gangs engaging in this type of behaviour themselves because they fear repercussions and they fear arrest themselves. So they use people who they see as expendable.
"It could be young people. It could be anyone connected to the gang. They send them out with the sole purpose of intimidation. And that intimidation path can take many different forms.
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"If they know you have no money, very often it is the case where you have these criminal gangs who would target the relatives of individuals who owe them money for cash.
"And if the individuals don't pay up, then they would go on to target mothers, fathers and even grandparents."
Mr Breen added that after speaking with Siobhan Maher from the DRIVE network (the Drug Related Intimidation and Violence Engagement group), which was established to help people in these situations, that the cycle is endless and they will keep coming back for more money.
Mothers and fathers have been remortgaging their homes, taking out loans, and have handed over thousands of Euro in many cases to try pay off a relative's debt.
Mr Breen continued: "I also spoke to a lady as well who had to pay €10,000 to a drug gang because of a debt her son incurred.
"And she said all along that she wished she had come forward earlier because there is help available.
"But it is an endless cycle where they keep coming back for more money."
Main image: Gardai at the scene of an arson attack on a house in the Birchwood estate Waterford in which a man and a woman and two of their children were killed. Pic: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie
