The Garda Commissioner, Mr Pat Byrne, has said people should "wait and see'` the outcome of the investigation into alleged corruption within the Garda in Donegal before jumping to conclusions.
He was speaking to journalists at Malahide in Dublin yesterday and was asked about political criticism of the fact that while five civilians have been charged in connection with the investigation no gardai have so far faced charges.
Mr Byrne was opening an international policing human resources conference, sponsored by the European Commission. He said the Garda internal investigation was complicated and difficult "but very comprehensive".
A file was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) who had yet to complete his deliberations.
"You can be assured of one thing - that all aspects of it will be pursued by me. I take this very, very seriously and that is manifest in the levels of officers who have been sent to carry out investigations on alleged criminality and also into alleged breaches of discipline."
Acknowledging that the investigations into the allegations had been going on for almost three years without any criminal or internal disciplinary charges being brought against any garda, Mr Byrne said: "I know it is a long time but there is due process."