A special committee made up of the Garda Commissioner and several government ministers is due to discuss the recent spike in carjackings.

It comes after the latest hijacking resulted in a taxi driver being assaulted and a young man losing his life.

Alex Doyle was one of two men who flagged down a taxi in the Rathfarnham area of Dublin at around 8:30am yesterday morning.

When they arrived at their destination, the driver was attacked and his car was taken from him and driven at speed through the city before crashing into a pole near Mount Brown.

Doyle (25), who was a passenger in the stolen cab, died at the scene.

Carjackings have become increasingly common lately with three such violent crimes recorded in Dublin in one week alone towards the end of last month.

A committee on road safety made up vested interests such as the Garda Commissioner, the CEO of the Road Safety Authority (RSA) and various government ministers is now due to look at the issue because of the concerns of Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar.

Meanwhile, a man believed to be behind the carjacking yesterday is still being questioned by gardai in Kilmainham.