Allegations of Garda mishandling of a series of major incidents are due to be discussed at cabinet today.

Their discussions come as one of the whistleblowers - Maurice McCabe has issued a statement denying that the Garda Commissioner wrote to him and directed him to co-operate with the garda investigation into the cancellation of penalty points.

Sergeant McCabe said media reports about Martin Callinan's directions to him are "gravely misleading and false".

The Minister for Justice, Alan Shatter, is under pressure from the opposition over his handling of the allegations.

Several whistleblowers have now come forward claiming Gardaí not only failed to act on reports of murder and other serious offences, but that the Department of Justice and the Garda Commissioner were told about them two years ago - and seemingly failed to act.

Last week Enda Kenny promised action - but the question the government now faces is whether Alan Shatter should have done more to deal with the allegations in the last two years.

And just as with the GSOC affair, the government may decide that an independent inquiry is the safest option.

Last night one of the garda whistleblowers- Maurice McCabe - issued a statement vehemently denying he was ever instructed to cooperate with an inquiry into the penalty points issue by Assistant Commissioner John O'Mahony.

Sergeant McCabe says the O'Mahony report was completed without any input from him. He says he had protested that he was not contacted by the inquiry.

He claims that on the 14th December 2012 he was given verbal instructions from a senior garda - which came directly from the Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan.

Sergeant McCabe says the direction was for him to desist from the accessing the Pulse system - and disclosing data on the cancellation of penalty points by Gardaí to a third party

The direction said if Sergeant McCabe had any further concerns about the matter he should bring them to the attention of Assistant Commissioner O Mahony.

Maurice McCabe's statement also contains a transcript he recorded of his conversation with the senior garda who delivered the direction from the Garda Commissioner.

In the transcript - Sergeant McCabe asks for a copy of the direction, but his request is declined.