Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said the “very violent and horrific killing” of school teacher Ashling Murphy is a reprehensible act.
Mr Martin said he is urging anybody that has any information to come forward and speak to gardaí.
And he has expressed concern that a young woman going about her life was violently attacked.
Mar Martin said: “People are rightly shocked, very traumatised by this and our hearts and prayers go out to the family.
"We will have to do everything we possibly can to ensure that there is absolutely no tolerance for such violent acts.”
He added: “This is devastating news, a very violent and horrific killing of Ashling Murphy.
“My heart goes out to her parents, her family, to the children she taught and to the wider community.
“She didn’t waste a minute of her life.
“A musician, teacher, one could only think of what’s going through the minds of the children she taught every day and what they are thinking of today in terms of what happened.”
Mr Martin said “of course” it concerns him that the young 23-year old woman was going about her life when she was violently attacked.
He said: “It’s very shocking, particularly in an area that has been developed to facilitate people to go about their exercise, to enjoy and meet people, to engage in the normal things of life on a daily basis, that it should be interrupted so violently and that a young, vibrant, life should be taken in these circumstances just goes against the very core of what we’re about, about the values of our community and society.
“And the need to protect women is one that emerges again and is a very strong issue for us as a society and we will have to do everything we possibly can to ensure that there is absolutely no tolerance for such violent acts.”
Speaking to Virgin Media, the Taoiseach said he is urging “everybody out there or anybody out there that has any information that may be of assistance to the gardai to bring such information to the gardai no matter how irrelevant they may think it is.”
He added: “The gardai are stressing that it’s very important that people would contact them with any information that may be of assistance to them and I would urge people to do that and cooperate with the gardai because this is a reprehensible act.
“Violence against women can not be tolerated in any circumstance.
“This is a violation of the young woman, her family, of a community in a peaceful area.
“I would urge everybody to cooperate with the gardai in any way possible.”
