Reserve force - Government, gardaí on collision course

THE decision of the Garda Representative Association (GRA) to target marginal constituencies, as well as Government Dáil deputies with vulnerable majorities, signals their determination to seriously pursue the issue of a reserve force.

Not that the Government should have been under any illusion where the GRA stood on the question, having vocalised it frequently, and expected to pass a motion rejecting the part-time force at their annual conference in Galway.

With just about 12 months remaining to the next general election, it could prove a nuisance to the present coalition, because what they are facing is a virtual ultimatum that it abandons the reservist plan.