A Clare Government TD insists new laws providing tougher sentences for burglary will help reduce crime.
Under the new legislation bail will also be denied to repeat offenders.
It comes as Fianna Fáil is promising to hire another 2,000 Gardaí if it's elected into Government.
The Criminal Justice Burglary of Dwellings Act comes into effect today and forms part of a government committment to tackle breaking-ins around the country, which have been a major talking point over the past year.
The legislation provides for bail to be denied, and consecutive sentences to be given, to repeat burglars.
It's intended to provide support to Operation Thor, which was launched in November of 2015 to tackle break-ins across the county, particularly in rural areas.
Fine Gael's Joe Carey says 75% of burglaries are committed by 25% of burglars and hopes the new laws will give peace of mind to the people of Clare.
Fianna Fail is promising to hire another 2,000 Gardaí – and double the number of Garda reserves – if it's in government.
It's proposing to raise the number of Gardaí to 15,000 as part of its new manifesto on crime and justice.
That's the same number it promised in 2007 – a plan which fell victim to the civil service recruitment embargo.
But justice spokesman Niall Collins says Gardaí were ignored when that embargo was lifted by this government.
Meanwhile, the Gort-based former president of the Irish Pharmacy Union is encouraging businesses to report every crime to Gardaí, no matter how small.
It comes as the latest IPU Crime Survey shows that three out of every four pharmacies are experiencing some form of crime including shoplifting, robbery and raids.
Brendan Quinn of Quinn's Pharmacy in Gort is urging businesses to open the lines of communication with one another to stamp-out crime.
