Bookmakers, taxi-drivers, dancehall owners, publicans, solicitors, auctioneers and active members of political parties are to be barred by Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy from joining the proposed 4,000-strong Garda Reserve.
Bailiffs, court staff, probation officers, private detectives and security guards will also be blocked from joining the force, which has been broadly supported by all parties in the Dáil except Sinn Féin.
The holder of a licence issued by the courts, Revenue or the Garda, or those who hold a licence which can be opposed by the Garda, are also excluded, according to the commissioner's document.
In a letter to spokespersons for the Opposition last week, Minister for Justice Michael McDowell said that Mr Conroy's proposals addressed "many of the questions" which had been raised about the reserve. Acknowledging the GRA and AGSI criticisms, he wrote that it had always been, and remained, his intention to meet representatives of both bodies before the final regulations were brought into being.
"However, I could not do this before receiving from the Garda Commissioner the detailed proposals, which he forwarded to me just 10 days ago," the Minister said.
"I undertook to revert to them for consultations, in accordance with the spirit of partnership, as soon as the proposals were to hand. I have been scrupulously careful not to produce a fait accompli because I felt that the associations might have a difficulty in accepting the clear wish of the overwhelming majority in the Oireachtas," he said in the letter, a copy of which was released to The Irish Times.
However, he said that the GRA and AGSI had "pre-empted" this consultation, and both had "indicated" last Thursday that they were not prepared to engage in consultation because they were opposed to the reserve in principle
"My door remains and will remain open for consultation," Mr McDowell said. "I am determined to maintain the overwhelming cross-party support for the reserve. This issue is too important to allow for point-scoring.
"Of course, it would be tempting to reply to some of the intemperate language that has been employed on the matter in the last few days.
"To describe, as has been done, the overwhelming consensus of the Oireachtas for a reserve as 'crazy' and 'dangerous' is not helpful - especially when it implies a judgment on similar reserves which have been shown to be hugely advantageous in many other jurisdictions," the Minister wrote.
Up to 1,000 gardaí are due to gather in Portlaoise tonight in the latest protest against the plan by members of the Garda Representative Association and the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors. Some 900 recruits to the unpaid, volunteer force are to be taken in from September, each of whom will receive over 120 hours of training. They will remain on probation for two years.
