THE Government must "do its utmost" to ensure Ireland does not become a "two tier society", with only some sections benefiting from economic success, Dr Michael Smurfit has said.
Economic success had been accompanied by a growth in crime which was now comparable to that in some of the world's major cities, according to Dr Smurfit.
The chairman and chief executive of Jefferson Smurfit Group, whose wealth is estimated at more than £80 million, was speaking at the group's club in Co Kildare.
Dr Smurfit told his audience at the £20 million K Club that economic successes meant Ireland was now "Europe's boom town".
"Yet perhaps as a society we have not focused enough on the risks that are associated with such growth, with such development and its significant attainment of wealth," he said. "Regrettably, money and criminality go hand in hand.
"We are in danger of creating a two tier society and it is the Government's ongoing responsibility, primarily through its social legislation, to do its utmost to involve and support all sections of society."
In the meantime, Dr Smurfit said, the Garda had to deal with a "day to day reality" which included increasing drug abuse, especially in the poorest and underprivileged areas. He said despite this and the continuing violence related to Northern Ireland, "it is not a time for rash solutions that do not serve the long term benefit of our people".
Dr Smurfit said the gardai were one of the few unarmed police forces in the world. He was announcing a contribution to the Jerry McCabe Fellowship Foundation named after Det Garda Jerry McCabe, who was killed during an attempted robbery in Adare, Co Limerick, last June.
Funding for the fellowship programme is still being sought from individuals as well as the private and corporate sector. Contributions can be sent to the office of Deputy Commissioner P.J. Moran, at Garda Headquarters in the Phoenix Park, Dublin.
Meanwhile, a Franciscan priest said yesterday that an economic and social system which made the person secondary to wealth creation resulted in a rise in crime, drug abuse and feelings of social exclusion.
Hosting a public discussion on "The Celtic Tiger and its Prey", Father Gerard Raftery, director of the Franciscan Social Justice Initiatives, warned that the tiger of economic resurgence could be "snared" by society's breakup.