The Garda Commissioner has said public confidence in the force has risen dramatically over the past two years.
Speaking at the annual conference of the Association of Garda Superintendents, Nóirín O'Sullivan said public confidence was up from 67% to 85% in recent years.
Ms O'Sullivan said An Garda Síochána has come through difficult times having been "punched drunk from being pilloried" in recent times.
She said every facet of the organisation has been examined in 41 reports over the past ten years, with over 780 recommendations arising from those.
She added that anti-crime strategy 'Operation Thor' had led to a reduction in burglaries by over a third in the past year.
Ms O'Sullivan said the emerging crime and security threats the gardaí are facing are radically different from this time last year.
Speaking about technological restrictions on the force, she said in ways they are 20 years behind where they should be.
The Association of Garda Superintendents earlier said at least 800 members need to be recruited every year for the force to be able to police the country effectively.
Delegates also called for more focused intelligence-led operations to deal with particular areas of serious crime.
The superintendents rejected the contention by the Garda Inspectorate that 1,500 gardaí could be released from desk jobs to police the streets, 300 of those immediately.
AGS President Noel Cunningham said those officers occupy pivotal roles in areas such as communications and resources and would have to be replaced by people equally skilled at doing their jobs.
Superintendents have welcomed the additional measures promised by the last government to resource a police service that has been deprived of recruitment and investment over the past eight years.
Their association says it is critical that the incoming administration not only follows through on these commitments but in some areas increases them.
To replace the 300 that leave every year and fill the existing gaps in the service, they say 800 gardaí need to be recruited every year for the next few years.
Supt Cunningham said the promised modernisation programme is welcome but it needs to be properly managed and could take a number of years before the benefits of new technology and equipment is realised.
It said there should be more intelligence-led targeted operations such as 'Operation Thor' to deal with specific areas of public concern such as rural crime, dissident and subversive activity and organised criminal gangs.
GSOC chairperson addresses conference
The chairperson of the Garda Ombudsman Commission has told garda superintendents that there should not be any complaints of discourtesy by gardaí either this year or next year.
One in ten complaints to GSOC which are referred to superintendents to investigate relate to discourtesy - how a garda spoke to or behaved towards a person.
Judge Mary Ellen Ring also told the Association of Garda Superintendents that there needs to be a greater recognition of the public service element of the gardaí.
She told officers that it was very difficult to prosecute people for making vexatious complaints.
She said GSOC's success rate was "appalling", that files were sent to the DPP but came back directing the Ombudsman not to prosecute.
Judge Ring also said that a large number of spurious complaints against gardaí arrived by email or late at night and that perhaps it was time to start only accepting them by letter.
