The Minister for Justice is not seeking to prevent "genuine whistleblowers" in the Garda Síochána from giving information to journalists, he told The Irish Times yesterday.
However, he said he would prohibit gardaí from giving information for reward, where it invaded the privacy of a victim of crime, where it impeded an investigation or prosecution, and where it threatened State security.
He also insisted that he knew of instances where information had been exchanged for reward, although he stressed that he thought the practice involved only a tiny handful of journalists and gardaí.
Meanwhile Diarmuid Doyle, the journalist whose allegations on this subject were quoted by the Minister, told The Irish Times he stood over his claims and was glad the issue had been brought out into the open.
Mr McDowell said the issue of Garda leaks to the media had been brought to his attention by the former attorney general, Mr David Byrne, when he replaced him. The existing Official Secrets Act was not adequate, he said.
"As attorney general it was my function to deal with an Official Secrets Act prosecution. There were no successful prosecutions. Had the law been different there would have been," he said.
"I have no objection to journalists ringing up a Garda station and asking 'Anything doing?' provided that it is all above board," he said. "I have no objection to gardaí saying they are investigating an assault. If the Garda is engaged in a big operation like Operation Hyphen or the raids on lap-dancing clubs they should say so.
"I'm not asking them to operate in secret, but to preserve professional standards. I have no problem with bona-fide assistance to journalists."
What he wanted to prevent, he said, was the leaking of information for reward, the release of sensitive personal information about people, for example, that a hypothetical celebrity's wife had been raped, information that might jeopardise a trial, and that pertaining to State security.
The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors gave cautious approval to these specific prohibitions, but its spokesman, Mr Austin Kenny, said they would wish to see the contents of the Bill. He added that the AGSI was seeking a meeting with the Minister to convey its concern about the way in which he had presented the matter.
The Garda Representative Association has also voiced its "grave concerns" about the Minister's comments.
"The GRA is outraged by outlandish claims that members of the Garda would accept cash in return for information," it said in a statement.
"We are surprised that the Minister would even contemplate such an allegation - as it is inappropriate for him to do so. We have grave concerns on the damage that this will do to the reputation of our members and the force as a whole."
The Irish secretary of the National Union of Journalists, Mr Seamus Dooley, accepted the Minister's latest proposals in principle, but asked him to prove that corruption existed before introducing major legislation.
He also expressed concern about prohibiting leaks that might jeopardise the "security of the State".
"Who decides?" he asked. "It could be a matter of political embarrassment, rather than State security."
He also called on the Minister to ensure that there was protection for whistleblowers whom, as a PD TD, Mr McDowell had pledged to defend, he said.