A garda is under investigation after child pornography was allegedly found on a computer at Garda headquarters in the Phoenix Park, Dublin.
The officer at the centre of the investigation has not been arrested or suspended. He was allegedly downloading the pornographic images at Garda headquarters when he was discovered.
The Garda's Internet Monitoring Unit assisted in the investigation.
The garda at the centre of the allegations was interviewed by gardaí after a surveillance-type operation was mounted on a communal computer at headquarters.
A statement from the Garda yesterday said the matter came to light "as a result of issues discovered by Garda management" at headquarters.
Itconfirmed a number of items had been seized as part of the investigation.
It is understood the officer's home was raided as part of the inquiry, which has been ongoing for a number of weeks.
A file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.
But headquarters was yesterday stressing the matter was at a preliminary stage.
"No arrests have been made and it has to be borne in mind, that like all other such matters, these are allegations until proven otherwise," the statement said.
The investigation is being carried out by the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation into allegations under the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998.
The officer under investigation works in an administrative role at Garda headquarters. While it is not illegal to view child pornography on the Internet, it is illegal to download it. Once the material is downloaded anyone possessing it can face prosecution.
The news will come as an embarrassment to the force which has been very active in recent months in clamping down on illegal activity linked to Internet child pornography.
Under Operation Amethyst gardaí in May seized almost 100 computers suspected of containing child pornographic images.
The computers were seized after a series of searches nationwide involving around 500 officers.
It was the largest police operation in recent years and by far the biggest mounted against suspected paedophiles. There are still charges outstanding on foot of Operation Amethyst, which went ahead after US police shared information with the gardaí on Irish child pornography suspects.
