The Former Minister for Justice Nora Owen has said the Gardaí’s ability to tackle gangland crime depends on how they allocate the resources they are given.

Owen, who was the Minister in the 1990s, claims funding is a question of priorities.

The Taoiseach has promised the guards will be given whatever resources are necessary to clampdown on the current Kinahan-Hutch gang feud.

However, Gareth Hutch was the seventh person to die in less than a year after being murdered on Tuesday. Gardaí have claimed they are chronically understaffed.

Owen has said they need to be honest about the situation.

“The Commissioner comes on and says ‘it’s not a matter of resources’, then a younger guard from the one of the agencies comes on and says ‘it is a matter of resources, we’ve lost personnel, five down – ten down in our region’,” said Owen.

“There needs to be a little bit of frankness about it. Look, every single agency in the State will say we need more resources, it’s a matter of how they spread them around.”