The Deputy Lord Mayor of Dublin has said he and his family were “absolutely terrified” when a group of males stole vehicles from their Cabra home over the weekend.

John Stephens, a Fianna Fáil councillor, said his wife and daughter , were terrorised by males attempting to steal their cars from their driveway in the early hours of last Saturday.

At about 5.30am, Mr Stephens’s wife and daughter were woken by banging and shouting outside their home in Cabra. They phoned him while he was working a night shift at the Mater Hospital.

He told them to phone the gardaí straight away and to stay inside.

“What happened was utterly shocking for us all. I had to listen on the phone to the turmoil which was unfolding, unable to do anything, knowing I could do very little. I left work as quickly as I could to get to them, not knowing what I was going to find when I got there,” he said.

“Around three young men, maybe more, began physically dragging my wife’s 10-year-old car out of the way and out of the drive while hitting it off a vehicle belonging to one of our neighbours. My wife’s car was badly damaged and that of our neighbour’s,” he said.

“They thought the men were going to attempt to get into the house,” he said. The males then targeted his 22-year-old daughter’s car, smashing the windows and forcing the boot and doors open while using a crowbar.

“They then got in and drove off at speed – all of which my wife and daughter witnessed as they looked on from the house. To say they were absolutely terrified is an understatement. My wife and daughter are still terrified and it’s several days later.”

He said his daughter’s car was relatively new and had a built-in tracker.

“She could see from her mobile phone app that her car was being driven towards Blanchardstown where it was abandoned. Everything inside the car was taken and the car was damaged beyond belief. It is probably going to be written off, while my wife’s car is in a terrible mess too,” he said.

The councillor said his daughter is “distraught” and feels “violated”.

Mr Stephens said gardaí dealt with the incident as quickly as they could, he said, adding that they are investigating the incident.

Mr Stephens said he has been liaising with Garda management for several months over the urgent need for more officers in the area.

“Blanchardstown and Cabra has the fastest growing population in the country and not enough gardaí. I’ve been told by Garda management that another 25 officers are needed,” he said.

CCTV, lighting and further security measures are to be placed around the deputy Lord Mayor’s home this week. Councillors have a €2,500 security allowance due to fears of intimidation and harassment.

The allowance for local authority members is expected to rise to €10,000 under reforms agreed by the Department of Local Government.

Measures considered under the security allowance include intruder alarms, fixed panic buttons and CCTV cameras.

In a statement, gardaí said they responded to an incident involving criminal damage and the theft of a car from a residential premises in Cabra, Dublin 7, early on Saturday.

“The car was later recovered and investigations are currently ongoing,” gardaí said.