Labour and the Green Party accused the Garda Commissioner of underestimating the damage done to the Garda force as a result of the findings of the Morris tribunal.
Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte said it was surprising that it had taken two weeks for the Garda Commissioner to respond to the outcome of the Donegal inquiry.
He said the response itself suggests that Mr Conroy "does not fully appreciate the damage that has been done to public confidence in the gardaí by the shocking findings of the Morris report".
He said the commissioner had given his response "before an audience of hand-picked journalists at Garda Headquarters. But what is even more worrying is the apparent unwillingness of the commissioner to face up to the need for fundamental structural and organisational reform within the force."
He noted that the commissioner had said discipline in the force was working well and that the problems outlined by the tribunal in relation to Garda management had been addressed.
"However, Mr Justice Morris in his report clearly believed that problems continue when he stated that the gardaí serving in Donegal cannot be said to be 'unrepresentative or an aberration from the generality'."
He said gardaí had always operated with great moral authority, derived from mutual respect and trust. "However, this trust has now broken down" and "fundamental reforms are essential to the restoration of that trust."
He said he accepted that "some tentative steps have been taken in regard to Garda reform". The Garda Ombudsman Commission would be a step forward when it eventually began operations, even though its powers and resources were much less than those available to the Police Ombudsman in Northern Ireland.
There was now a compelling case for the establishment of an independent Garda authority "to free the force from the dead hand of the Department of Justice and to provide an appropriate degree of public accountability and oversight".
He said the issue was not about the character of the Garda Commissioner, who he believed to be "an honest and dedicated policeman".
Rather it was about the culture inside the Garda force "that allows the covering up of events that 'staggered' a former High Court judge and that goes into denial when unacceptable behaviour is exposed".
Green Party justice spokesman Ciaran Cuffe said the commissioner was "in denial" on the extent of reform that is needed.
"Commissioner Conroy needs to acknowledge publicly that radical reforms are required to address the policing needs of modern Ireland," he said. "The Garda system of promotion needs to emphasise merit more than seniority. Human rights training needs to be mainstreamed within the force and more in-service training is required."
He said the commissioner had acknowledged that there were devious people within the Garda organisation, "but he needs to realise that the events that unfolded in Donegal were as much about management failing, as it was about the activities of individual members of the force.
"The commissioner must explain his own role in transferring rogue officers in Donegal to duties elsewhere, rather than firing them."