A man and a woman have made separate complaints to the Ombudsman's office, both against male members of the gardai. After looking into the allegations, it was decided that both complaints warranted a full investigation, according to a spokesman from the office.

"One of them is particularly serious if established and the person who made it claims the assault took place during a search. We have had a number of sexual assault allegations but most have proven false.

But we do have two that we are now investigating. These two have the potential to be very serious, " the spokesman added.

The office has received over 50 complaints from people involved in the Shell to Sea campaign. Twenty of these allegations have warranted a full investigation.

After over three months in operation as an independent complaints board, the Garda Ombudsman's office has received 780 complaints from members of the public. Some 140 of these have resulted in the launch of a full investigation and are currently being examined. In 190 cases, the Ombudsman is attempting to settle the complaint by "informal resolution", a sit-down between the garda and the complainant that could result in an apology or explanation from the garda involved. If both parties are willing to resolve the matter through mediation, the complaint does not remain on the garda's permanent record.

Some 60 complaints so far were inadmissible because the alleged incidents occurred outside the six month time-frame for making complaints, or were deemed false.

Gardai have contacted the Ombudsman's office to report 123 incidents involving members of the force. By law, any incident involving a garda should be reported by them or another member of the force to the Ombudsman immediately.

Over 20 garda referrals were looked into further by the Ombudsman, including the circumstances surrounding the death of a pedestrian who was struck by a car last month driven by an off-duty garda in Co Galway.

Last month, the Ombudsman launched its first "public interest" enquiry into the death of Terence Wheelock, 20, who died after he was found hanging in a cell at Store Street garda station in 2005. Last month, a split jury returned a verdict of death by suicide at an inquest into his death. The Ombudsman's investigation is expected to take several months and Wheelock's family has recently been interviewed about their concerns.

The Ombudsman decided to launch the enquiry because the jury at the inquest was clearly divided and because the Wheelock family maintain that their independent forensic reports into his death suggest garda involvement.

The Ombudsman's office is also examining other cases, some dating back several years, and will soon determine if they too warrant a "public interest" enquiry.

The Ombudsman's office has an annual budget of 10 million. Following an investigation, the ombudsman can make recommendations on disciplinary proceedings to the garda commissioner, send a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions, or dismiss the complaint if it's found to be false.