The Government intended to implement fully the new reserve Garda force and it was part of the law of the land, Minister for Justice Michael McDowell said yesterday. He expected the gardaí to uphold the law.
Mr McDowell spoke as gardaí gave a massive endorsement to their staff associations' policy of non-co-operation with the proposed reserve force at a protest meeting attended by over 1,000 officers in Sligo.
Leaders of the Garda Representative Association (GRA) and the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) called on the Minister to explain how non-co-operation would involve breaking the law. GRA general secretary PJ Stone derided Mr McDowell's call for consultations. He would not, he said, "be engaging with anyone at this stage".
Speaking earlier yesterday, Mr McDowell said gardaí were "bound to accept the will of the Oireachtas on this issue and I am bound to implement it".
He invited the Garda associations to engage in a consultation process on how the reserve force could be put into effect but appealed to them not to go down a path of confrontation. "I fully expect gardaí to uphold the laws of the land. . . There is no question of any group in society being able to say that it doesn't abide by the law of the land or that they will frustrate the implementation of the law of the land, least of all gardaí."
At a press conference, the Minister released comprehensive details of the proposals for the reserve force drawn up by Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy. "I don't envisage that they [ the gardaí] won't co-operate," he said.
The Minister said he had spoken to Taoiseach Bertie Ahern earlier yesterday. "We are determined that the will of the Oireachtas and the Government will be implemented," he said.
They were equally determined that those with a direct interest in the matter, such as the representative associations, should be given a fair and reasonable consultation process on how the proposals would be put into effect.
"The debate has been carried out on a somewhat misleading basis, in that various rumours have been put out about what would have been finally proposed. This is the proposal the commissioner has made to me," he said.
His message to the associations was to talk about what was really proposed rather than what they thought was proposed. If opposition to the reserve force reflected a genuine concern or misunderstanding, he believed the detailed proposals and consultations would answer any reasonable questions.
He said the proposals made a number of points clear. Reservists would receive more than 120 hours initial training. They would be vetted to the same extent as full-time gardaí as regards security and character. There was no danger of infiltration by subversives or criminals.
They would have the same educational standards as recruits to the full-time force, only patrol in the presence and under the supervision of full-time members, only serve in uniform, would not drive official vehicles or carry firearms. They would be subject to full disciplinary codes and would not carry out duties in their own neighbourhoods. They would have powers of arrest only when on duty and only under the supervision of a garda.