A report to be published this afternoon will accuse gardaí of massaging national figures on crime.

The report from the Garda Inspectorate will claim that gardaí downgrade the significance of some crimes because of a lack of clear guidelines.

The report also found evidence that gardaí sometimes fail to act on reports of crime.

There are claims that reports of domestic violence are ignored, while other incidents are not recorded on the Pulse system.

The report is expected to strongly criticise the existing policing model and procedures.

It is also expected to call for new serious crime squads in each of the garda regions, as well as giving individual superintendents control of specific tasks - such as traffic - in each area, rather than overall control.

Already, senior gardaí fear the report could mean cuts to the number in the upper ranks of the force.

These changes could have a major impact on Dublin-based national units - some of which may be decentralised.

Newstalk's political editor Shane Coleman spoke to Lunchtime earlier.

He says the current Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald will have learned from the mistakes of her predecessors in dealing with the issues raised.