Two Gardai criticised by the Morris Tribunal Report have spoken out for the first time.
They claim junior members of the force are being scapegoated in Donegal to protect senior officers.
Garda Martin Leonard denies ever lying to the tribunal and says he will continue to fight to clear his name.
Padraig Mulligan, who has been dismissed from the force, admits drinking on duty but says he did not make the revelation out of fear of the Carty inquiry team.
Earlier the Garda Commissioner, Noel Conroy, said he regretted that policing procedures were not followed or adhered to in the investigation into the death of Richard Barron.
His comments follow the publication of the second Morris Tribunal report, which strongly criticised members of the force and its investigation into the death of Mr Barron in 1996.
However, Commissioner Conroy insisted that garda procedures are adequate to deal with major investigations.
He also said he is concerned about the interpretation being put on an aspect of his submission regarding the quality of the investigation.
He pointed out that this aspect reflects the views of garda officers involved in the investigation. They and the Garda Commissioner are represented by the same legal counsel that drafted the submission.
Commissioner Conroy also said he is considering the adverse comments and findings made by the tribunal against members of the gardaí.
He said he shares the tribunal’s concerns about garda accountability and welcomes the Garda Bill. He further said he wants to reassure the public of the gardaí's commitment to providing an effective policing service.
The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors said it fully accepted the findings of the Morris report.
The AGSI said the report presents an opportunity for Garda management to put into place new procedures, practices, policies and systems.
Speaking on behalf of the Taoiseach, the Minister for Finance, Brian Cowen, told the Dáil earlier this morning that the Government also accepts the report and would act on it.
Donegal men were framed
The report, which was published yesterday, found that two Donegal men had been framed by gardaí for the murder of Richie Barron, a murder that had never taken place.
Judge Frederick Morris said there was evidence of wilful blunders, gross negligence, laziness and rushes to judge people as guilty.
The Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, said the findings were disturbing and depressing.
But Frank McBrearty Jnr, who was wrongly accused of murder, has said that the latest report does not go far enough and he has called for the minister to be sacked.
Opposition politicians have criticised the fact that there has not yet been Dáil discussion on the first Morris report, published almost a year ago. A full Dáil debate on both reports of the tribunal will now be held in two weeks' time.
The Green Party and Labour have both reacted by calling for an independent body to investigate any complaints against the Gardaí, rather than the proposed Ombudsman Commission.
A copy of the report has been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Read the second report of the tribunal here
