Garda Commissioner Drew Harris and Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan have met former Garda Majella Moynihan.

Commissioner Harris said he offered her "a fulsome apology" on behalf of An Garda Síochána.

Following the meeting on Thursday, he said: "I was pleased to meet Ms Moynihan... and offer her a fulsome apology in person on behalf of An Garda Síochána."

Ms Moynihan has said she was threatened with dismissal when she had a baby with a colleague outside of marriage in the 1980s.

Ms Moynihan, who was 22 at the time, was subject to an investigation after she became pregnant.

She was charged with two counts under the 1971 Garda Síochána Regulations, relating to premarital sex and giving birth outside marriage.

She ultimately kept her job, although was also summoned and questioned at a hearing on the conduct of the child's father.

She gave birth to a son in 1984, and the child was given up for adoption.

Ms Moynihan remained in the force until 1998, when she left having sought early retirement.

Minister Flanagan said he was pleased to have the opportunity to meet with Ms Moynihan and "to offer her an apology in person for the ordeal she endured as a young Garda in the 1980s".

"Wrong on every level"

Speaking in the Dáil on Tuesday, Minister Flanagan said: "As Minister for Justice and Equality, I sincerely regret the appalling ordeal that Ms Moynihan faced as a young Garda member.

"The treatment she has described was simply wrong on every level. In fact, it is shocking.

"As a young Garda, she should have been able to expect that the Garda organisation would offer her support at a time when she was most in need of it."

"It is profoundly disappointing that she did not receive that support, and that, on the contrary, she feels she was treated harshly by the Garda organisation.

"For many decades, Ireland was a country that was highly intolerant of difference.

"Women suffered particularly as did members of the LGBTI community, those with disabilities, and other minorities. Society then functioned in a way that would be regarded as completely unacceptable by our standards today."