Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)

We are all aware of how capable the Defence Forces are, but so is the fire service. The fact that the Minister of State could recount seven incidents in the course of almost ten years demonstrates that this is an unusual situation. Firefighters were in dispute in my constituency last year, and I would support them as I do the people in Roscommon. The workers made arrangements.

The fact that the armed forces were not called upon to intervene in the dispute is confirmation of the fact that workers had sorted out the situation. They were being treated unfairly vis-À-vis other groups of workers by the State being actively used in order to undermine their legitimate dispute. I take it, based on the comments of the Minister of State, that he intends to carry on in that regard. Can any other agencies, apart from local authorities, invoke this procedure or is it only at their behest?

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