The Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald says she is setting up a judicial inquiry into the death of Sergeant Michael Galvin "in the public interest".

The father of three had been investigated by the Garda Síochana Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) and had been cleared of wrong-going.

However, he was reportedly unaware of that at the time of his death.

Ms Fitzgerald told Newstalk Breakfast she took all the circumstances into consideration before setting up a judicial inquiry.

Meanwhile, GSOC says much of the commentary around the death of Sergeant Michael Galvin has been misleading, inaccurate and inflammatory.

In a statement, GSOC says: ""e are convinced that our interaction with the late Sargeant Galvin was proportionate and reasonable."

However the organisation adds that "we do not believe that it is reasonably practicable for us to continue with our investigation into Sergeant Galvin's death. The situation in which we find ourselves is unforeseen in the legislation and we are taking this decisive action to bring our investigation to a close."

General-secretary of the AGSI John Redmond says the case could damage public confidence.

Earlier, the Garda Representative Association (GRA) said it was 'dismayed' that GSOC is regarded as an appropriate agency to investigate the death of Sergeant Michael Galvin.

In a statement, the association said: "We need to be sure that this investigative process is transparent, and that the family, friends and colleagues can have absolute confidence that this absolute tragedy has been thoroughly examined, and that lessons can be learned for the future."