Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy has appealed to the public to help the gardaí to stamp out crime by criminal gangs.
Fine Gael Justice Spokesperson Charlie Flanagan has also called for changes to garda rosters.
He has also suggested that civilians be recruited to allow more garda officers to be put on duty on streets to combat crime.
Both men were responding to annual CSO crime figures that show an increase in murder, rape, kidnapping, false imprisonment, robbery and hijacking.
The figures show that there were 53 murders last year, three more than 2008. Twenty-two of those were gang-related murders.
There was also 367 rapes recorded, an increase of 10%. Cases involving the sexual abuse of children were up by over 29%.
Kidnapping and related offences such as false imprisonment and human trafficking also recorded a dramatic increase, up over 80%, while robbery, extortion and hijacking crimes also increased.
There was, however, a significant reduction in the incidence of drink driving, which was down 23%.
Drug offences were also down by 6%, as were public order, explosives and gun crime.
