Gardaí have a "good picture" of the number and structure of the different criminal gangs operating in the country, Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly has said.
The commissioner said gardaí have carried out an analysis and know how these criminal organisations work.
Mr Kelly also said an "organised crime threat assessment" of all of these groups has been completed.
The commissioner was speaking at the Garda Training College in Templemore, Co Tipperary, as 193 people were sworn in as new members of of An Garda Síochána.
He was asked about the events involving two feuding gangs in Ballymun in Dublin this week, as well as what the Irish Prison Service has said is the rising number of gang members it is seeing in the system.
Mr Kelly said: "One of the things that we have done is we have examined and we have analysed all the different groups.
"We have done what we call an organised crime threat assessment. We work with colleagues in Europol as well around some of the analysis.
"But we certainly have a really good picture around the numbers, the structures, how they [the gangs] operate."
The commissioner said he was "reluctant" to put a number on how many gangs and criminal organisations were operating here.
However, he said he certainly would not say that this number of gangs is significantly increasing.
He said: "Whenever there is discussion around numbers, it is still really important to remember Ireland is a really safe country.
"So last year, there was not one homicide by firearm and that's the first time since the 1960s and we here in Ireland are the envy of many countries in Europe that we have that position."
Minister for Justice 'much happier' that gang members in prison
Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan said he was "much happier" that the members of serious criminal organisations and gangs were "in prison than outside the prison."
The Minster said: "The figures yesterday showed there is around 170 gang members in prison, and the number of gangs in prisons is rising.
"That is a reflection, however, on the very good job that and An Garda Síochána are doing in identifying and investigating serious gang figures.
"It is a sign of the criminal justice system working effectively, and indeed, the prison system in terms of imprisoning those who have made the conscious decision to get involved in serious criminal activity within gangs," Mr O'Callaghan added.
When asked what his message is for someone who might be considering becoming a member of one of these criminal organisations, the Minister said people should "stay away" from gangs.
He said: "People sometimes think that there is an attraction to being part of a gang. There is not. You can see that if you get involved in a drug gang, you are going to end up in prison, you are going to end up with addiction issues.
"And ultimately, young men get sense, and by the age of 35 or so, most of them cop on and realise that it's important to live a pro-social life.
"But no matter how big you are in the organised crime world, and this is something that we may see reported on later today, there will be consequences for you joining the criminal gangs," Minister O'Callaghan said.
Almost 200 new gardaí pass out of Templemore
The almost 200 gardaí attested in Templemore this morning brings the total number in the force to 14,661 sworn members.
Of the new 193 probationer gardaí, 134 are male and 59 are female.
Five of the gardaí were born outside of the State - in England, Italy, Poland and Spain.
The gardaí will now be allocated as follows: 141 for the Dublin region, 27 for the eastern region, 14 for the southern region and 11 for the north western region.
Commissioner Kelly said 57 of the gardaí would be going to Dublin Metropolitan Region North garda division, in which Ballymun is located.
He said: "We are putting significant additional resources into that area. And I think in relation to the incident that happened with the child, obviously, I mean, it could have had absolutely tragic outcomes, and thank goodness it didn't.
"But on that very same morning, we conducted an operation with the divisional drugs unit out in Ballymun and we recovered a firearm out there separate to this.
"So I think that just indicates that the whole time we are working very hard around firearms," Commissioner Kelly added.
Read More: Number of criminal gangs in prisons nearly doubles in past year
