Sinn Féin TD Martin Kenny is to meet the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (Gsoc) to discuss allegations of Garda malpractice.

Mr Kenny outlined a number of allegations of Garda malpractice in his constituency of Sligo-Leitrim in the Dáil this week.

However, the police watchdog has insisted a number of the allegations have already been investigated.

In a statement, Gsoc said: “A small number of the cases listed by Deputy Kenny have either already been investigated by Gsoc, or are currently under investigation. We will not comment on the investigation of any of the specific cases.

“The ombudsman commission has arranged a meeting with Deputy Kenny next week to discuss the matters he has raised.”

Mr Kenny alleged that “rogue” gardaí were using criminal informants to entrap people and then prosecute them.

He alleged these gardaí were running their own informants outside the rules of the Covert Handling of Intelligence Sources (CHIS) programme.

Outlining a series of incidents, Mr Kenny also claimed high-ranking gardaí were protecting these rogue officers and covering for them.

Mr Kenny has confirmed he was aware the allegations had been examined by Gsoc.

However, he insisted a commission of investigation was required to assess the claims.

Mr Kenny said the Garda whistleblowers who approached him about the allegations had engaged with Garda authorities about the claims on multiple occasions.

He said this process began as far back as 2009 and continued until 2015.

Mr Kenny said: “The two gardaí, now retired, received a letter in November 2015, informing them that the Independent Review Mechanism of complaints to An Garda Síochána, while acknowledging many of their concerns, would not be carrying out any further investigation.

“After that, the whistleblowers again approached me and asked me to raise these matters. This was done yesterday.”

Garda Representative Association

Mr Kenny said the Garda Representative Association (GRA) had been aware of these claims for several years.

However, the GRA insisted the Sinn Féin TD’s Dáil contribution was the first they had heard of them.

Mr Kenny said: "The Garda Representative Association was involved with the whistleblowers and liaised with them throughout the process of their complaints with the relevant Garda authorities.

“For the GRA now to claim that it is unaware of any of the allegations I made yesterday in the Dáil is bizarre and puzzling in these circumstances.”

Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald said she could not comment on the allegations made by Mr Kenny.

However, a spokesman for Ms Fitzgerald said the details mirror a case which was referred to the Independent Review Mechanism and the complainant had been made aware of the outcome.

He said Mr Kenny or anyone with additional information about these matters should provide that detail to Gsoc.

The spokesman also confirmed Ms Fitzgerald is still consulting with Attorney General Máire Whelan about allegations made about a meeting between Garda whistleblower Maurice McCabe and two senior officers.

Ms Fitzgerald was asked by Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan to refer claims made about a meeting between Maurice McCabe and two senior officers to the police watchdog.

A spokesman for the Minister said she was consulting with Ms Whelan about how to proceed.

It is expected this process will take a number of days, the spokesman said.