A former Justice Minister, who set up the Garda Reserve, has said members of the group have faced 'hostility or neglect'.
Senator Michael McDowell was speaking as the number of reservists fell to an all-time low.
At the end of March, the number of reservists stood at 371 - less than a quarter of what it was in 2014.
Source: michaelmcdowell.ieSenator McDowell told Newstalk Breakfast the issue was addressed in the Seanad on Wednesday.
"Two Ministers came into the Senate yesterday [and] they said they were going to start recruiting again - hopefully by the end of 2023," he said.
"They gave no figures, no targets, nothing, they just simply said they were going to restart the whole process of recruitment.
"It's very clear that the Garda Reserve has been allowed to decline by official neglect for a long period".
'Never really recognised'
Senator McDowell said this is due to a number of issues.
"Going back to when it was originally founded, some people in the GRA were radically opposed to it," he said.
"They feared it might affect their well-being and their terms of service; and they stated that they were going to wait in the long grass for me.
"I ceased to be Minister in 2007, but from what reservists have told me in e-mails that I've received - and I've received quite a number - a lot of reservists encountered hostility or neglect or were underused.
"Their voluntarily activity was never really recognised at all in many cases".
'Policy of neglect'
Senator McDowell said the Garda Reserve was told to stop recruiting.
"It came to the point where the Commission on Policing actually said that they weren't being well-managed, that the situation was effectively a mess.
"They said, 'Stop recruiting until you work out a strategy about how you're going to use these people' - and the recruiting more or less stopped.
"The strategy was announced in 2021: I looked at the strategy document, and it again has no figures in it as to how many people would be recruited.
"So there seems to be a policy of neglect".
'Assistance to police'
Senator McDowell said there is a misconception about the Reserves.
"The idea of reserve police is an assistance to the police," he said.
"Unfortunately some people in An Garda Síochána thought it was competition for resources - which is nonsense".
He said there has to be targets and a plan in place for Garda Reserves going forward.
"In many parts of the country, towns and villages are patrolled by people in patrol cars... who maybe live 60 miles away.
"An Garda Síochána needs local routes," he added.
The Garda Reserve is a voluntary, unpaid body drawn from the community to assist Gardaí when extra personnel are required.
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