Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has appealed to anyone with information on the murder of 17-year-old Keane Mulready-Woods to contact gardaí and assured them they would be protected.

Mr Varadkar and Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan were in Drogheda to meet gardaí in the wake of the teenager's death.

Keane was murdered and his body dismembered before being left at a number of locations in Dublin.

DNA results are awaited to determine whether more human remains found in Ballybough in Dublin on Wednesday are also those of the teenager.

A house in the Rathmullen Park area of Drogheda remains sealed off as forensic specialists continue a detailed examination of the property.

Mr Varakdar said: "I want to assure the people of Drogheda that the Government is 100% behind them, that we are going to put these people behind bars and make this town safe again.

"I want to say to people in Drogheda and around the country that crime doesn't pay and we will put these people behind bars.

"We need to restore law and order and that is our objective."

Mr Flanagan said Keane's brutal murder must be "a line in the sand as far as gangland crime is concerned".

Mr Flanagan said he wanted to assure people in the town and throughout the country that those responsible for "the brutal, heinous crime" would be caught.

"There is a small group of ruthless criminals in this town who will be brought to justice," he said.

"This brutal murder must be seen as a line in the sand as far as gangland crime is concerned."