Kilrush Town Council's deputy mayor has claimed that thugs are tearing apart the social fabric of the west Clare town.
Fianna Fáil councillor Stephen O'Gorman was speaking after a serious unprovoked assault on his daughter (20) and her friend (22) by two men - one armed with an iron bar - early yesterday morning in the town centre.
The attack on the two women occurred on the same night as six cars were found burnt out at various locations around Kilrush.
A petrol bomb was also thrown at the car belonging to Cllr O'Gorman's daughter outside the family home as she was being treated for her injuries 32 miles away at Ennis General Hospital.
Cllr O'Gorman said: "It is a very small number of people we are talking about here, but these are thugs whose behaviour is bordering on gangsterism. These thugs are tearing apart the social fabric of Kilrush."
His daughter suffered bruising to several parts of her body, while her friend was punched in the face.
Cllr O'Gorman said: "The two girls were beaten down the back and beaten in the arms. The thugs only fled the scene when the girls shouted for help. It is very, very upsetting.
"We have come to the stage now where action needs to be taken to stop this and I know that there is no easy solution."
A study last year identified a core group of adolescent males engaged in crimes of intimidation and violence in Kilrush.
The study, by community partnership initiative Eirí Corca Baiscinn and the Health Service Executive, found there were 43 young people "at risk" in Kilrush, representing 12 per cent of the town's adolescent population.
This group included early school leavers; youths who had been cautioned or charged by gardaí; and those known to social services.
Last November a €3 million Government-sponsored regeneration project for the large local authority John Paul Estate was launched.
A spokesman at Kilrush Garda station said gardaí were following a definite line of inquiry in relation to the assaults and the burning of cars. Chief Supt Liam Quinn of the Clare Garda division appealed for witnesses to come forward.
