People in rural areas are being urged to become more proactive in reporting suspicious activity, given recent high-profile attacks on older people.
Gardaí are said to be concerned about organised burglary gangs targeting vulnerable pensioners in their homes.
A 72-year-old man was attacked during a break-in at his house in Celbridge, Co Kildare earlier this week, resulting in him being hospitalised with serious injuries.
Retired 73-year-old farmer Tom Niland is fighting for his life following a vicious burglary in his home three weeks ago.
Independent Kerry TD Michael Healy-Rae said there is an onus on everyone to help stop these crimes.
Mr Healy-Rae told Newstalk: "If you're living in an area, and you see a strange car or strange people that you think are out of place, the gardaí will be very glad to get a call saying 'I'm worried, I've seen such a thing', and not to be a bit afraid of talking up in these situations. In other words every one of us has to become a community involved, alert person."
Nat O'Connor, policy specialist with Age Action, said attacks on older people are still rare.
"These are horrendous crimes, there's no doubt about it, very callous individuals involved. We can only hope that gardaí can gather enough evidence to put people into the judicial system and behind bars because we're talking about violent criminals. At the same time, thankfully, these are still rare events. Older persons generally are less likely to be victims of crime."
