A councillor says parts of Cork city have become 'no-go areas', and people have lost faith in Gardaí.
It comes in the wake of two violent street brawls in recent weeks - including one on St Patrick's Street last Monday which has been widely shared online.
In the video two men are seen tackling each other, with one man throwing the other onto a passing car's bonnet.
Independent Councillor Ken O'Flynn told Newstalk Breakfast there is very little Garda visibility.
"When I say there are certain areas that are no-go, there are certainly parts of the city that people feel at-risk in and feel worried out.
"I have constituents contacting me, texting me or engaging in social media with me telling me how they feel unsafe in the city.
"How they're afraid for their children going into the city at night, how they're afraid for their elderly parents going into the city doing their day-to-day business.
"The reality is here is that while Gardaí have limited resources, we've never had so many Gardaí in Cork city then we do in the last 10 years.
"Unfortunately we're not seeing them out on the beat... people have lost faith in the services that the Gardaí can provide.
"Gardaí on the ground are doing a marvellous job, but I speak to Gardaí every day of the week nearly engaging on different issues.
"And they're telling me 'Look our pin is to the collar, we don't have enough resources, we don't have enough people on the ground'".
'Guards doing administration work'
Councillor Flynn says the force could be put to better use.
"We really need to re-look at what's happening in the Garda Síochána.
"It was pointed out yesterday to me that we have a pile of Guards doing administration work behind desks, we have a lack of availability of cars in the city.
"We certainly, to my mind, have a lack of availability of the Garda patrolling, the Garda on the beat - the Garda walking down the street, the presence of the Gardaí".
And he believes things are just getting worse.
"Certainly we have seen an increase in more violent type of attack or behaviour.
"This is not an isolated incident on Monday last - we've had a stabbing a couple of weeks ago in the city centre in the middle of the day.
"We've had a situation where we've had violence breakout in the middle of traffic again in MacCurtain Street about two weeks ago, and I've witnessed myself open-drug dealing."
