Gardaí may have to film their response to events such as the recent riots in Dublin in future in order to get their side of the story across, it was claimed yesterday.
Speaking at the 24th annual conference of the Garda Representative Association (GRA) in Cork, its general secretary, Mr P.J. Stone, said the good name of the Garda Síochána was being obliterated by a minority of people who had the backing of the media.
Mr Stone also accused the Minister of Justice of pandering to the press, claiming it was inconceivable that Mr O'Donoghue did not immediately accept the Garda Commissioner's report on the riots in Dublin.
"What does that mean? What is the Minister saying? Is the Minister for Justice suggesting that he cannot accept the word of the Garda Commissioner on certain issues?
"If that is so then the Minister and the Government should remove the Commissioner immediately," he said.
The Minister should be strong enough to stand up and say he was satisfied with the report.
"There is only so much scar tissue that can be stitched together in order to keep a person upright, and the Garda Síochána needs and deserves the support of government, and more especially, of its minister," Mr Stone said.
He also criticised Mr O'Donoghue for not accepting the word of the Garda Commissioner on prior knowledge of the Omagh bombing.
The general secretary claimed that the vast majority of people did not want an ombudsman to be appointed to investigate the gardaí. The majority of complaints to the Garda Complaints Board came from people with subversive or criminal leanings, he said.
Meanwhile, the president of the association, Mr Greg Fogarty, said prison sentences handed down by the courts were too lenient.
He told the conference gardaí were becoming frustrated at the inability or the lack of will of the courts to see that the full resources of the law were used to control jail-breakers.
"It is time that mandatory minimum sentencing was introduced and enforced," he said. "If there is not appropriate punishment then there is no effective deterrent."