The Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, has said the gardaí should stay out of politics as they have always traditionally done.
He was responding to a decision by the GRA at its annual conference today to target marginal constituencies and vulnerable Government deputies as part of its campaign against the Garda Reserve.
Mr McDowell said such a strategy would be a mistake. He is attending the conference banquet in Co Galway this evening but is not being permitted to address the delegates.
Referring to the GRA's new strategy, the asssociation's new president, John Egan, earlier told the conference that gardaí and Government were aware where marginal constituencies were.
But he cited Laois/Offaly, Longford/Westmeath, Galway West and Tipperary North where the garda college is based.
He said the Government had one year to abandon the proposal for a reserve and deliver the long promised extra resources for gardaí.
Mr Egan said 'if they do not, we will be waiting in the long grass'. The GRA had a strong voting power and it was not happy with the reserve, he added.
No sanction for anti-reserve stance: GRA
The GRA has also said it does not believe that gardaí who refuse to work with reservists will be breaking the law, suspended from work or convicted in a court of a criminal offence.
The annual conference of rank and file gardaí, which opened in Galway this morning, was expected to adopt a motion rejecting the part-time police force, which begins recruitment later this month.
The outgoing GRA President, Dermot O'Donnell, earlier said gardaí would be putting themselves at risk by cooperating with the reserve and that they would therefore be committing an offence under current health and safety legislation.
The Garda Reserve issue was expected to dominate the conference, with 32 motions on its agenda.
Sergeants and inspectors have already decided to adopt a policy of non-cooperation with the reserve.
Mr O'Donnell said such an allegation against a garda would have to be fully investigated, the DPP would have to direct a charge and a court would have to find a garda guilty. He did not believe it would come to that.
He also said that under current health and safety legislation, an employee may not put himself or herself at risk at their place of work and therefore if gardaí agreed to work with reservists, they would be committing an offence.
