O'Donovan became the eighth person to be killed by intruders since 2000 . . . and the fourth in just over one year . . . when he was stabbed to death at his home in Croom, Co Limerick on 4 November. It is believed that the 59-year-old bachelor was stabbed after disturbing a burglar.

The popular local man had been socialising at a family engagement party in the hours leading up to his killing. He was buried yesterday.

Fine Gael's justice spokesman Jim O'Keeffe said that the killing showed the need for greater legislation to protect homeowners. His party introduced the Home Defence Bill last June but the proposal was voted down by the government. The bill, which sought to increase the rights of home owners when tackling intruders, was criticised by government parties for supposedly encouraging homeowners to violently tackle intruders.

However, O'Keeffe said the present law favours intruders by making it a criminal offence for a homeowner to protect their property. This needs to be amended in order to give the homeowner increased rights, he said.

"We are not talking about giving people a licence to kill", said O'Keeffe.

"The legislation needs to be re-balanced in favour of the homeowner. We need to protect the homeowner against the intruder, not the other way around".

Eight people have been killed by intruders since the start of 2000, although four of these incidents have taken place over the last 14 months.

While O'Donovan is the first person to be killed by a burglar this year, three men were killed by intruders in 2005.

Chinese student Zhi Song (23) was stabbed to death after disturbing burglars at the house he was living in on Reuben Avenue on 30 June of last year. Members of the public donated 30,000 in order to fly Song's body back to his native China. Derek Wade, of Church Avenue, Rialto, has been charged with his murder.

The month following Song's killing, well-known Waterford horse breeder Dick Forristal was stabbed to death in his home by 21-year-old Anthony Barnes. Forristal (67) discovered Barnes in his home after returning from the funeral of Tara Whelan, the Waterford girl killed in a terrorist bomb blast in Turkey.

Barnes was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Eighty-two-year-old Michael Creighton was found dead in his home in Westmeath on 4 September 2005.

He had been tied up and severely beaten by Ian Kinahan during a robbery. Kinahan (36) was sentenced to life imprisonment for the attack.

Creighton's killing was reminiscent of the killing of Paddy Logan, an 81year-old bachelor who died after a savage attack carried out by two Dublin brothers.

Logan was at home listening to a GAA match on radio with his elder brother Peter when John and Christopher Doyle, from Fatima Mansions, entered the house. The brothers, 35 and 29 respectively at the time of the attack, beat the elderly men before escaping with 45.

The two remaining victims of homicide by intruder were Limerick man John Poland, who was shot dead by burglars just minutes into 1 January, 2003, and Thomas Farrell, a 43-yearold father of five who was stabbed to death after he disturbed youths attempting to steal his car.

A 20-year-old man was found guilty of Farrell's murder, but no one has been caught for Poland's killing.