Catch up on this morning's headlines...

Martin Callinan and Nóirín O’Sullivan are now civilians, yet both are represented by the same legal team as the Garda force at the Disclosures Tribunal, comments Special Correspondent Michael Clifford.

Sinn Féin says Taoiseach Leo Varadkar needs to act and remove Nóirín O'Sullivan as Garda Commissioner.

Sinn Féin has accused Fianna Fáil of putting forward a “cowardly” motion seeking the reform of the Garda force in an attempt to undermine Sinn Féin’s own motion seeking Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan’s resignation later today.

The Tanaiste and Justice Minister is to brief the opposition today on plans for a root-and-branch review of the Garda force.

Garda commissioner Nóirin O’Sullivan will this morning face the first of two crunch Dáil grillings over a series of scandals that have hit the force amid ongoing calls for her to resign.

Last week, as it was reported the Policing Authority is to fill its first senior position since it was handed that power, the Garda Review warned in an editorial that ‘nepotism and pull are alive and well’ in the selection process. Today ex-garda Patrick Horan, now a lawyer, argues that methods of promotion have sullied the honour of the force.

The first time Garda whistle-blower Sergeant Maurice McCabe’s concerns of serious malpractice and alleged cover-ups in the force gained public attention, former Garda commissioner Martin Callinan retired after a late-night knock on the door, writes Fiachra Ó Cionnaith.

Gardaí have taken the unusual step of visiting homes in the Irishtown area of South Mayo to reassure shocked locals that no third party was involved in the horrific deaths of an elderly couple and the serious assault on their son last week.

Former Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan is under mounting pressure to explain why he said whistle-blower Maurice McCabe “could not be trusted” during a secret meeting with ex- Public Accounts Committee chair John McGuinness.

The former Garda commissioner Martin Callinan and his replacement, Nóirín O’Sullivan, must give a “full statement” to explain why a secret 2014 meeting in a car park to discredit whistle-blower Maurice McCabe took place.

Fianna Fáil has said it would increase the number of gardaí to 15,000 if elected to office.

THE French government could hardly have chosen a more appropriate day to honour the legendary force of nature behind the National Ploughing Championships, its managing director Anna May McHugh.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny is expected to today receive a long-awaited independent report into the retirement of former Garda commissioner Martin Callinan, potentially putting his position at risk.

Karen Buckley’s father described Alexander Pacteau as ‘truly evil’ after the killer admitted repeatedly hitting her with a spanner and trying to dispose of her body in a bath of chemicals. In an emotional speech outside of court, John Buckley, who travelled with his wife Marian and three sons for the hearing said there are no words to describe what the family went through.

Female gardaí make up more than a quarter of the force, figures show.

THE move to widen and strengthen the powers and duties of over 1,124 volunteers in the Garda Reserve is a positive and welcome development for policing at a time when the image of the Garda Síochána in general is tarnished.

The strength of the Garda force could drop below 12,000 before any new recruits are trained up, putting the force well below the minimum threshold former Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan said was vital to maintain existing policing services.

The chairman of the Public Accounts Committee John McGuinness has said the penalty points system is still being abused despite a series of overhauls.

A report commissioned by the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) into the recent leak of confidential information has failed to establish any individual responsibility "either on the part of an employee of GSOC or any other party".

Cabinet reshuffles are often compared to rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic and the big question is whether the promotion of five new ministers, and the historic inclusion of four women in its A-team will be enough to get the country back on track before the next general election in 2016 — if the Coalition lasts that long.

Newly appointed Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald is unlikely to go looking for a scalp in the Garda force or the Department of Justice any time soon, judging by her first few days and actions in government.

Garda whistleblower John Wilson has sought a meeting with the newly appointed justice minister over fresh claims of Garda misconduct.

The Cabinet will begin work on Tuesday on the terms of reference for the commission of inquiry into alleged wrongdoing by members of the Gardaí.

Opposition leaders have declared that Alan Shatter was living under a cloud for some time and that he had also mismanaged his portfolios while in office.

The generosity of Tom Cavanagh in donating €45,000 towards the purchase of a Garda bus to support community policing in Gurranabraher (Irish Examiner, April 17) is commendable.

A businessman and philanthropist who donated a €45,000 bus to a community Garda unit in Cork has urged more wealthy people to give back to disadvantaged communities.

The Cabinet is expected to advance two of the biggest developments in policing in the history of the State when it meets in Dublin this morning.

What began as a difficulty surrounding whistleblowers has mutated into something far more serious — a full-blown crisis over the recording of phone calls to Garda stations.

Gardaí have been accused of stringing along a coroner and the family of murdered IRA spy Denis Donaldson with bogus claims.

TWO political crises on a Monday morning. Isn’t that great!

Even if Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan does withdraw, as widely expected, his scandalous description of two garda whistleblowers as “disgusting”, it will be too late to salvage the Government’s inept handling of this long-running crisis.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said that anyone who plays politics with a series of controversies involving the gardaí should hang their heads in shame.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said anyone who plays politics with a series of controversies involving the Garda should hang their heads in shame.

DO you remember Smiley’s People? It’s one of the great classic TV series, based on the novels of John LeCarre and starring Alec Guinness as the deep-thinking, slow moving British intelligence officer.

The conclusion of the Smithwick Tribunal that Garda officers colluded in the murder of Superintendents Breen and Buchanan is deeply disturbing, and if it is true that one or more members of An Garda Síochána colluded with the IRA in the murders of superintendents Breen and Buchanan, then not only are they guilty of murder, but they let down an entire police force.

In describing the findings of the Smithwick Tribunal report as “absolutely shocking”, Taoiseach Enda Kenny spoke for the vast majority of the Irish people, north and south.

Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams has claimed two RUC officers murdered in an IRA ambush following a tip-off from a terrorist mole in An Garda Síochána "disregarded their own safety".

Leaking confidential information can be highly dangerous. Of course, this may depend on the motive of the individual leaking the information. If it is to expose official wrongdoing, it can serve a very useful purpose.

Victims of domestic and sexual violence are calling for a register of abusers to be set up to protect women from men with a history of abuse.

More than 170 senior positions in the Garda ranks are vacant even though the Government has given the go-ahead for the roles to be filled.

An Garda Síochána can begin recruiting from next year after Justice Minister Alan Shatter announced the lifting of the embargo.