The Garda Commissioner has insisted there is no evidence any information has been compromised following her use of a Gmail account for Garda business.

Nóirín O’Sullivan said garda systems are secure and there is nothing to suggest the forces security controls have been compromised.

The commissioner is appearing before the Policing Authority this afternoon - where her use of gmail was added to the agenda.

Authority members made it clear to senior garda management that they had examined the garda's policy on the use of outside email - and that it had been breached.

The Authority Chairperson Josephine Feehily told the commissioner her use of a commercial email client for garda business was an issue of concern and said it could have an adverse affect on public confidence in the force.

Commissioner O'Sullivan said “under no circumstances” would she use any system that would compromise national security:

The commissioner also confirmed that an update of the garda ICT policy would be ready in weeks.

The talks come amid a series of scandals for Commissioner O’Sullivan - including the narrowly averted garda strike and a longstanding row over senior appointments.

She told the authority there are still “critical vacancies” remaining to be filled despite a round of appointments approved by government earlier this week.

At least 14 further appointments will be required in the first half of next year, she said - including three assistant commissioners.

The Policing Authority is due to take over the responsibility for the senior appointments at the end of next month and the commissioner said she is looking forward to “active engagement” with the authority.

“We welcome the future engagement of the Policing Authority in the appointment processes and look forward to active engagement in this regard next year,” she said.