The head of the largest Garda representative association has said his organisation will only negotiate with the Government on a Garda Reserve if a major programme of investment in An Garda Síochána is formulated.
Garda Representative Association (GRA) president Dermot O'Donnell believed this investment was "years away".
He said Minister for Justice Michael McDowell must accept a reserve was "not good for policing or for the people of Ireland".
He was speaking ahead of reserve-force talks with Mr McDowell next Wednesday.
He said plans to increase the force from 12,000 to 14,000 were inadequate. It was likely that 16,500 members were needed but this would only be determined by an optimum numbers audit. "What we are saying is resource the force first of all. Give us the sort of commitment in writing that you intend this to happen."
The Irish Times understands that apart from the demand for more gardaí, the GRA wants investment in the force's communications, stab vests for members and purpose-built patrol cars. Demands for major investment in new Garda stations will also be outlined to Mr McDowell.
Yesterday Mr McDowell insisted his plans for a Garda Reserve were part of a badly-needed programme of change.
There was no threat to the status of full-time members or to their safety. He was not suggesting that a part-time member could carry out all of the same functions as a full-time member.
The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) meets next Thursday with Mr McDowell. An AGSI spokesman last night said the organisation's opposition to the creation of an "amateur, unprofessional" reserve force had not changed.
He said it was ironic Mr McDowell had invited a senior UK policeman to speak about the merits of the reserve force there. Detection rates in Cheshire, from where the officer was visiting, were 26 per cent last year compared with between 30 per cent and 40 per cent for the Garda.
On a visit to Dublin yesterday, the chief constable of Cheshire Constabulary Peter Fahy said the UK's reserve force worked very successfully.
