The investigation industry and the media must be regulated and a proper balance struck in relation to Government proposals to penalise gardaí who supply information to journalists, according to Assistant Garda Commissioner Adrian Culligan.
However, he said: "There is no evidence to suggest that journalists are bribing members of the Garda Síochána for information."
Speaking at the 49th annual conference of the Council of International Investigators (CII) in Kinsale, Co Cork, he stressed that Garda officers had served their community well since the foundation of the force in 1922, and many had given their lives in the course of duty. When questioned about the proposed laws, he said gardaí were sometimes privy to information about individuals which often caused the media to go "into a frenzy".
This was particularly the case when such information related to a high-profile person or celebrity.
However, he added that there was a need for a balance to be struck in the daily life of both the media and the Garda, with respect shown on both sides, but that both should also be regulated as a matter of necessity.
"We are all big enough in the Garda Síochána, in politics and in the media to get a right balance, and that is what is needed," the assistant commissioner told more than 120 delegates at the conference.
Meanwhile, former president of the CII, Mr Derek Nally, said the Government's proposals were "unworkable" and should not be introduced.
"It's wrong that the gardaí are gagged in this particular way and I can't see how the Minister is going to say you can speak about this but you can't speak about that. It just won't work," Mr Nally said, adding that such proposals could have a serious effect on morale.
He said legislation was urgently required to regulate the investigation industry.
"We have been calling for years for the Government to pass legislation to properly regulate our industry," Mr Nally said, adding that the absence of such legislation made it easier for "unsavoury" people with low ethics to set up business.
The Minister of State for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mr Michael Ahern, acknowledged that the entire sector of private security and investigation had developed greatly over the last decade.
Opening the conference, Mr Ahern said the Private Security Bill, currently before the Dáil, marked an important milestone in the development and regulation of the private security sector in Ireland.
The proposed Bill provides for the establishment of an independent statutory body, as well as the control and supervision of individuals and firms providing security services.