One of the two Garda whistleblowers involved in the penalty points controversy said the firing yesterday of the Confidential Recipient Oliver Connolly was a case of "shooting the messenger".
Former Garda John Wilson said any members of the force who want to report concerns should now go directly to their local TD.
"If somebody decided that they want to report malpractice or corruption, it's going to take a degree of courage - there's no doubting that," he said.
"I'd advise those people to be brave and contact members of the Oireachtas. They can do so under section 62 of the Garda Síochána act 2005.
"Mr Callinan [the garda commissioner] might not agree with me, but that's the law of the land."
John Wilson quit the gardaí in early 2013. He said he felt he had no choice after he was put under pressure following his revelations of penalty points being set aside.