Problems with the Garda's new multi-million-pound computerised information system are understood to have contributed to the record delay in issuing the annual crime report figures for the year 2000.
The figures traditionally came out in the first half of the following year.
However, in recent years the delay has increased. The report is complete, it is understood, and may be released before the end of the year.
The report for 1999 was incomplete as figures for the last quarter of that year were not fully collated because of the difficulties encountered on the introduction of the PULSE (Police Using Leading Systems Efficiently) computer system.
The system is still encountering difficulties, and no official figure appear to be available for its cost.
An attempt by The Irish Times to ascertain the cost to the State of the system through the Freedom of Information Act resulted in the supply of documents, some of which were entirely blacked out.
The initial estimate for the cost of the introduction of the system was under £30 million, but it is believed there has been a very substantial overrun.
Costs for consultants' fees and the supply of the computer hardware are also supplemented by the amount of Garda time involved in the training programme.
In respect of the crime figures for 2000, it is not clear if they will reflect what Garda sources say is an increase in robberies which has continued into this year.
The number of robberies is understood to have gone up again in the second half of this year.
There does not appear to have been any significant increase in the number of murders or other serious crime, although there was an unusual increase in the number of infanticides in 2000.
The reasons for this are not yet explainable.
The Garda Commissioner's annual report breaks down the figures for crime for the Dublin and four regional police areas.
Dublin still has the highest figures, and Limerick continues to have the highest rate of murder and assault figures in the regions.
The Republic, as a whole, has one of the lowest crime rates in the world although it has high levels of public-order problems associated with late-night disturbances.
The report also contains figures for detection rates, which vary considerably, from as low as 20-30 per cent in districts with relatively high crime rates to more than 50 per cent in less affected areas.