The Garda Representative Association (GRA) believes disgruntled prison officers will support its campaign to target five Government TDs in marginal constituencies if plans for the Garda Reserve are not abandoned, GRA president John Egan has said.
The plan was unveiled at the GRA's annual conference in Galway. It will begin immediately - in order to damage the TDs before next year's election.
Mr Egan believed prison officers would support the anti-PD campaign because they were upset by the manner in which Mr McDowell had treated them during the row over overtime.
"There are a number of marginal constituencies," said Mr Egan. "We know where they are and they know where they are. We will be waiting in the long grass for them."
The four constituencies are: Laois/Offaly, where there are two prisons and where the GRA believes the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Tom Parlon (PD), is in danger of losing his seat; Galway West where the GRA believes Noel Grealish (PD) will be at risk in next year's election; Longford-Westmeath where the GRA believes Mae Sexton (PD) will also be under pressure; and Tipperary North, where the Garda college is based and where Fianna Fáil needs to return two TDs in a three-seat constituency.
Mr Egan said the power of the campaign against the deputies should not be underestimated. The Government only had one more year to deliver on a whole range of resourcing promises for the Garda. Investment was badly needed for the modernisation of the fleet of patrol cars and for the provision of anti-stab vests, pepper sprays and new Garda stations.
"We are hoping the Government will reverse its position and see sense," Mr Egan said of the reserve force proposals. "It's still not too late for that. Seventy per cent of the people of Ireland are either related to a garda, live beside them or know some, and they'd know how frustrated we are on this reserve force issue."
Reservists will be "wannabes" who threaten the safety and professionalism of An Garda Síochána.
Outgoing GRA president Dermot O'Donnell said Mr McDowell had "severely damaged" the morale of the force with his reserve force plans.
In the UK, where reserve police forces operate, the full-time force was backed by one civilian support worker for every two officers.
In Ireland, that figure was one civilian for every eight gardaí.
Mr O'Donnell said the people of Ireland would be best-served by Mr McDowell if he addressed this shortfall and freed up full-time gardaí for front-line duties. A reserve force was not the answer.
The Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy has said he supports the Garda Reserve and that it would be implemented. On resourcing, he told delegates civilian staff were being recruited for data entry on the Garda Pulse computer. This would free up gardaí for front-line duty. Eleven thousand anti-stab vests had also been ordered at a cost of €3.5 million.
New high-visibility jackets were also being piloted, as were new safety boots and shoes. The supply of retractable batons had been put out to tender. Rigid handcuffs were being piloted, as was pepper spray for gardaí.
He accepted the speed of the provision of new Garda stations was too slow. He had put forward a proposal to the Government which involved stations being built on a private-public partnership basis.
A motion calling for the rejection of the reserve force will be formally put to the conference today, where it is expected to be passed. It will result in the formal ratification of the GRA's plan not to co-operate with reservists, 900 of whom are to begin operating in September.