The acting Garda Commissioner has suggested the number of Gardaí within the force is too low.
Noirin O'Sullivan says it's "challenging" to maintain a full policing operation with the current numbers within the force.
The overall number of Gardaí is now under 13,000 - down from over 15,000 in previous years.
And Noirin O'Sullivan admits that the ongoing fall in numbers presents problems for the force.
"In terms of the overall numbers - do I believe we have enough? It's challenging," she said at the MacGill Summer School in Glenties.
"And there's no two ways about that.
"But that's no different than any other public or private sector organisation over the last number of years.
"As managers, right across public and private sector, we've had to look at how we can do things differently."
A new intake of 100 Garda recruits is due to begin training at Templemore in September - the first time new recruits will have been hired since 2009.
"I would hope that when the economic recovery takes pace and comes back around, that there will be an opportunity to look at this numbers again, and look at investments in terms of resources and other types of resources," O'Sullivan said.
