Senior garda officers have warned that the number of frontline gardaí in most parts of the country is critically low.
The Association of Garda Superintendents has said that the Government's current recruitment campaign is totally inadequate to offset the reduction in garda numbers.
It said the force is now suffering the effects of the embargo on recruitment over the past five years.
The association's president Superintendent Gerry Smith said the numbers coming into the gardaí are not sufficient to prevent the capacity and capability to provide an effective policing presence on a 24-hour basis being seriously diminished.
Supt Smith also revealed that the association had lodged a formal complaint with the Dáil Ceann Comhairle Seán Barrett on abuses of parliamentary privilege, which he said tarnished the good name of members.
He said utterances in the Dáil were now broadcast live, widely reported in the media and re-broadcast on a dedicated Oireachtas channel.
The damage was immediate and could not be undone by rectifying the official Dáil records or withdrawing the utterance.
Supt Smith said he was satisfied with the response of Mr Barrett, given his limited powers.
He also called on Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald to ensure that the parliamentary privilege bestowed on Dáil TDs was respected.
