The Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, contacted the Garda Commissioner, Mr Pat Byrne, last night after pay negotiations broke down.
Earlier, talks between Garda representatives and Government officials about the refusal by gardai to work a new £50 million computer system collapsed after a demand for more pay was refused.
In a statement the Minister said it was the Government position that it "cannot or will not" exceed the public pay parameters to resolve the dispute.
There was also no sign last evening that either side was prepared to give ground in the dispute, which has persisted despite more than 18 months of talks and a pay award to the gardai above the national pay agreements.
It was also not clear what strategy, if any, has been devised by Garda management to operate the new computerised records system. The force has, effectively, reverted to the state it was in before the advent of computers.
It is understood both sides in the pay talks were unable to reach agreement yesterday on a staff demand for a reduction in their 40-hour week to a 39-hour week.
The staff side hoped a Government concession on this issue would help them "sell" a pay award deal to their membership, who have twice rejected a productivity award to work the new PULSE computer system.
The rank-and-file gardai twice rejected at ballot an offer of a 4.5 per cent productivity payment.
There was no sign yesterday that the refusal to work the new computer system was causing any serious difficulty for Garda operations or that it was disrupting police work.
The old computer system, which was not Y2K-compatible, was closed down finally on Tuesday, and all records are now being kept with pen and paper. Gardai pointed out that, as they had previously done both computer and pen-and-paper records, there was no immediate problem in respect of their work.
The problems are expected to build during coming weeks, however, if the new system is not put in place. The main problem is likely to arise over the accessing of criminal, court and firearms records.
After yesterday's breakdown in talks, the Garda Representative Association said it had put a "responsible" proposal to the official side but this had been rejected.
The Commissioner issued a directive earlier this month that all officers should work the new system when directed.
However, the GRA instructed its 8,000 members to refuse to do so. A further 2,000 sergeants and inspectors are also complying with a direction from their association not to co-operate with the new system.
Mr Byrne said earlier this week he would not allow the refusal to endanger lives or operations, but he could not dismiss 9,000 gardai in what was an industrial relations dispute.