Controversial new Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (Asbos) for adults are due to come into force on Monday, the Government will announce later today.
A separate tiered system of Asbos is due to come into force for children aged between 12 and 18 from March 1st.
From January 1st, a garda may apply to a district court to take out an Asbo against an adult causing "harassment, persistent alarm or distress, fear or intimidation" to others. Failure to comply with an order may trigger a fine of up to €3,000 or a jail sentence of up to six months.
However, gardaí have told the Department of Justice that its multimillion euro Pulse computer system will not be ready to process the new orders for several months.
A spokeswoman for Minister for Justice Michael McDowell said the Garda Commissioner had assured the department that the orders would be manually processed in the meantime.
The broad plans for Asbos have come in for criticism from groups such as the Ombudsman for Children, the Irish Human Rights Commission and dozens of non-governmental organisations. They say the orders threaten to criminalise people for behaviour which is not normally treated as criminal.
They have also called for greater emphasis to be placed on the welfare-orientated Children's Act, which provides for a range of community-based sanctions for offenders.
Mr McDowell, however, has insisted that Asbos would be a measure of last resort.
He has also pointed to significant differences between the way Asbos may be issued in Ireland and Britain which, he said, would ensure they were used fairly and reasonably.
Under this system only gardaí at the rank of superintendent and above will be able to make an application to court for an Asbo. In Britain, constables and local authority officials can do so.
The duration of orders will be for a maximum of two years, in contrast to Britain where they last a minimum of two years.
Penalties for breaching an Asbo are set at a maximum of six months imprisonment in Ireland, in contrast to Britain where the maximum is set at five years.
Meanwhile, details of how Asbos for children will be implemented are still being finalised.
The approach for children differs by providing a tiered system in which a range of alternatives will be explored before an Asbo may be taken out against a child.
A child must first be given a "street warning". If anti-social behaviour continues, the child's parents will be invited to draw up a "good behaviour contract" with the local Garda superintendent.
If the child continues to behave in an antisocial way, he or she will be referred to the Garda's diversion programme. If a problem still remains, the need for an Asbo may arise.
For children aged between 12 and 14, "good behaviour orders" may be taken out instead of an Asbo. The terms of this order will differ by empowering the court to bind parents over to ensure their child stops offending. Such parents may be ordered to undergo parenting courses or seek other forms of help.
Controversially, the privacy conditions that apply to children in the criminal justice system may be lifted if a judge decides publicity is required to give effect to an Asbo.
Pressure groups such as the Children's Rights Alliance have criticised the plans and called instead for the full resourcing of the Children's Act. They say alternatives to detention provided for in the Act, such as community sanctions, are not fully in place because the Government has not resourced them.
