The Chief Inspector of the Garda Inspectorate has recommended that some 24-hour stations be closed to the public for routine services in the evening and other selected times.
Kathleen O'Toole has also said that the issue of closing some 24-hour stations fully at night should also be considered.
She was speaking at the launch of her report on resource allocation within the gardaí.
She pointed out that while there are 42 stations open on a 24-hour basis in Dublin for just over 1m people, there are only 13 stations open 24 hours in Greater Manchester for 2.5m people.
She also said the gardaí need more modern technology, including a computerised dispatch system and a national control centre for taking calls from the public.
She said at present there are 94 stations taking calls from the public all of which could be rationalised down to two.
She says there needs to be more civilians in the force. At present 1,650 gardaí work on administration and that in future one civilian should be recruited for every three gardaí.
She also said the issue of gardaí hanging around all day to attend court needs to be streamlined and made more efficient and that the operation of the Garda Reserve needs to be reviewed.
New rosters and work policies needs to be introduced into the force and more gardaí need to be on duty during the busier times, with less rostered on during quieter times.
Gardai should also be able to deploy a one-officer mobile unit for non-emergency calls in urban areas where backup is close at hand.
