Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 16 May 2013

Public Accounts Committee

2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 26: Collection of Motor Taxation
Vote 20: An Garda Síochána

12:10 pm

Mr. Martin Callinan:

Going back to where we started, there was a need to take into consideration the EU working time directive. That is where we sought to address the policing needs and the work-life balance and get a system in place, which is not an easy thing to achieve. It took quite some time, over 18 months, to push that out. Underpinning all of this, once we had the broad parameters in place, was the need for a working time agreement. We had to go back to the associations, engage with them and work through that process. That has had the effect of extending the pilot even further. All of those things are in play as we speak.