Former Attorney General and justice minister Michael McDowell has said that the current garda management "in its entirety has failed us".
The independent senator said that he believed it is the duty of the Government to bring about public confidence that the gardaí is being managed correctly.
Mr McDowell was speaking following yesterday’s findings in two garda reports that more than half a million more false breath tests than originally thought had been recorded on the garda PULSE computer system.
Gardaí had thought that in the five years between 2011 and 2016, just over 933,000 false breath tests had been recorded.
However, a report by Assistant Garda Commissioner Michael O'Sullivan has now established that the figure is more than 1.4 million.
Garda Commissioner Nóirín O'Sullivan has faced renewed calls to resign in the wake of the latest revelation.
Mr McDowell told RTÉ’s News At One programme that there is a crisis in the gardaí which must be addressed and it was the Government's duty to take the necessary steps.
He said that Fine Gael has always seen itself to be the law and order party and that he believed the party regarded the prospect of seeing two changes in senior garda management at the behest of the Government as being something that would be politically difficult for them to sustain.
He said that many members of the Oireachtas share that view.
Mr McDowell said he believed there had to be a substitution of the entire management structure of the gardaí. He added that senior management must be held accountable and face the consequences.
Earlier, Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Denis Naughten said that those responsible for the false penalty points need to be held accountable.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, he said that there should be disciplinary action for individual members of the gardaí who were involved in the controversy.
"I believe there should be individual disciplinary action in relation to individual members and that is based on the review as presented to cabinet.
"However, there is an external review ongoing at the moment and that situation may change based on what evidence is presented. And we have to look at evidence put before us. We can't just make claims without evidence."
The Minister described the controversy as "unbelievable" and "bizarre" that these statistics would be collected.
"It undermines the credibility of An Garda Síochána. This didn't just happen overnight, it was over eight years."
He added that it could not have happened by accident.
Commenting yesterday on the two garda reports, Garda Commissioner Nóirín O'Sullivan said: "Assistant Commissioner O'Sullivan's reports identify failures in our systems, processes, oversight, supervision and management.
"These failures are completely unacceptable and all of us in An Garda Síochána must now take responsibility for ensuring this cannot happen again. Changes have already been introduced and we are committed to ensuring the required cultural, behavioural and systems changes are made."
