The Garda informant intelligence system has "limited, if any, credibility" with the majority of detectives and senior gardaí, according to the Garda Inspectorate.

As part of the ‘Irish Examiner’s third day of analysis on the Garda Inspectorate report, Cormac O’Keeffe uncovers the crisis in the force’s informant handling system

The largest police staff body said the Garda Inspectorate’s damning report on crime investigation had "lifted the lid" on why morale was so low in the force.

A third of all detectives are untrained, with some waiting up to 10 years before getting any instruction, according to a damning report by the Garda Inspectorate.

An Garda Síochána is riddled with systemic, operational deficiencies, the Garda Inspectorate has found. Caroline O’Doherty reports

Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald reacted to the report’s criticisms by announcing measures to address some of the main failings identified.

Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald pushed for a "package of promotions" for her staff at the height of a series of scandals in justice and policing to replace officials who were retiring or taking three-year career breaks.

Sifting through the latest critical report of the Garda Síochána would leave even the staunchest supporter of the force grappling for good news.

The Garda Inspectorate has set out more than 200 recommendations for streamlining the investigation and management of crime in a report to be released in the coming days, it has been reported.

As any Sir Humphrey Appleby, GCB, KBE, MVO, MA (Oxon) worthy of his or her Leinster House access-all-areas pass will confirm, the best way to kill off persistent, difficult ideas is to exile them to the never-never land of consultation, to divert them up endless cul-de-sacs and, eventually, watch them drown in a quagmire of earnest, impractical reports or costings.

A police authority will uncouple the close relationship between the justice minister and Garda commissioner, says Cormac O’Keeffe.

Major changes in the way gardaí carry out interrogations will have to be adopted after the Supreme Court said suspects should be allowed access to solicitors before they are questioned.

A unanimous Supreme Court judgment quashing a man’s attempted rape conviction on grounds that suspects who request a lawyer cannot be questioned by gardaí until they get legal advice has significant implications for Garda investigations and may affect some prosecutions.