Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will reflect on the amendments that have been tabled. I want to be honest with the members as well, as I said, around Government policy.

I will make the point that there is an impression garnered about this. The Defence Forces representative associations, to be fair to them, will try to extend. This is progress for them, insofar as it statutorily provides for association with ICTU. This is an advance. This is not changing the goalposts in a negative way in respect of their capacities because Defence Forces regulation S.6, on communication with the media, states, "No public statement or comment concerning a political matter shall be made by the Association." This is already in place. I must stress that to Deputy Carthy. I am not inventing this.

I take the point we are reflecting what has been custom and practice, what has been Defence Forces regulation, which stems from the Defence Forces Act and we are putting that into legislation as an understood norm. No one, up until this legislation being tabled, had really raised this issue with me in the past year and a bit other than we tabled the legislation. People are entitled to respond and come up with their views in respect of that.

The provision, "The Association shall not sponsor or resort to any form of public agitation as a means of furthering claims or for any other purpose whatsoever.", is what currently is in law, in terms of the Defence Forces regulations. There is more there but that covers it. The regulations are quite extensive. Regulation S.6. is there. The legislation has been endeavouring to reflect that while advancing the associate membership of ICTU and making sure that we do not in any way undermine the role of the representative associations in representing their members. That is where we are but I have heard-----