PUBLIC frustration is leading to a growth in vigilantism, according to Mr Eric Byrne, Democratic Left TD for the area in which Joseph Dwyer was killed on Tuesday night.
Mr Byrne said the Minister for Justice, Mrs Owen, should establish "community policing squads together with community based crime prevention councils" to tackle the problem.
He said that one example of the inadequacy of the state apparatus was that it took six months from the time a person was arrested for carrying suspected drugs for the State's forensic science laboratory to produce confirmation that they had been in possession of an illegal substance. Meanwhile, the person who had been arrested was free throughout that six, months.
Mr Tony Gregory TD said he was "surprised" this type of incident had not happened before. It had resulted from inadequate policing and general response to the drug problem. "My reaction to it is that, while a situation continues where the response of the gardai and the State is totally inadequate, people are going to take a more active role themselves. That's directly a consequence of the inactivity of the State", he said.
"I'm very surprised it hasn't happened to a serious dealer. There's never been any direct action against those people. I think it's ironic that, when it does happen, it happens to someone who is himself a victim of drugs."
The Progressive Democrats spokeswoman on justice, Ms Liz O'Donnell, said the killing of Joseph Dwyer provided "an imperative for the Government and the gardai to put in place measures which will respond effectively and relevantly to the growth of vigilantism".