Severe criticisms of the Garda's human rights record are expected in a major report to be submitted to senior officers shortly. It follows a six-month inquiry by British experts.
London-based management consultants Ionann were commissioned by the Garda to investigate whether the force meets human rights standards laid down by the Council of Europe.
The company carried out interviews with senior officers, received 4,500 questionnaires from rank-and-file gardaí, and organised a number of public seminars.
The Garda's treatment of asylum-seekers and immigrants and its record in working-class communities were sharply criticised during a number of the seminars held last summer.
Ionann carried out a report into the London Metropolitan Police following the inquiry into the murder of black youth Stephen Lawrence, who was killed by a group of white males in 1993.
Meanwhile, retired Circuit Court judge Mr Anthony Murphy has complained that RTÉ's Prime Time programme on Garda discipline was unbalanced.
In the programme, the Cork-based Mr Murphy alleged that some gardaí had committed perjury when they appeared before him during his 15 years on the Circuit Court bench.
Speaking to the Evening Echo yesterday, Mr Murphy said: "It was unbalanced in that it did not show the other side of the coin, that is, the decent gardaí, other than the rotten 5 per cent or 10 per cent."
Mr Murphy also said he had always told prosecuting counsel that suspected acts of perjury by gardaí should be investigated by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
In his interview with the Evening Echo, Mr Murphy, who retired from the Circuit Court in 2001, said there would be little point in pursuing such cases of alleged perjury because they occurred years ago.
Accusing the Government of "foot-dragging", the leader of the Labour Party, Mr Pat Rabbitte, said a Garda Ombudsman should be given the same powers and resources as the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman.
Prime Time had exposed "a shocking picture of systematic abuses", said Mr Rabbitte.
"There is hardly a member of the Oireachtas who will not have come across individual cases of abuse similar to those depicted, but the totality of the cases reported, as well as the unprecedented criticism made by a former Circuit Court judge, was quite shocking."
Over €6 million compensation has been paid out over the last five years to members of the public who suffered assault, unlawful arrest or other breaches of citizens' rights at the hands of gardaí.
"This suggests a serious breakdown of discipline and order within some sections of the force, and it does the Garda no service for senior officers, representative bodies or the Minister for Justice to continue burying their heads in the sand and deny the scale of the problem that exists," said Mr Rabbitte.
The Fine Gael justice spokesman, Waterford TD Mr John Deasy, who called for a properly funded Garda Ombudsman, said: "The vast majority of gardaí do carry out their duties with great integrity. But there are a lot who don't."
Green Party TD Mr Ciarán Cuffe said public confidence in the Garda was at an all-time low. "It is crucial that the Minister ensures that the Ombudsman is fully independently staffed from the outset."
Sinn Féin Dublin South Central TD Mr Aengus Ó Snodaigh said the practices outlined in Prime Time were "common".
"While the revelations were maybe shocking for many people, they are but the tip of the iceberg."
