Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is very important, when there are discussions relating to terms and conditions of employment, such as occurred recently and which led to the Haddington Road agreement, that the representative bodies, be they from the Defence Forces side or the Garda side, feel they can be fully engaged. The parallel process that took place facilitated that. However, I have stated I am happy to look at how that process can be improved. We should not always assume existing structures are as perfect as they might be. I am very happy to see whether things can be changed in a way in which there might be a perception of greater engagement.

I wish to praise the different representative bodies in dealing with what were known as the Croke Park II discussions, subsequently the Haddington Road discussions. The Defence Forces representative bodies dealt very carefully and very committedly with those matters. Quite rightly, they sought to protect the position of their members but they also engaged constructively to assist and identify how crucial savings could be made. When it came to the Haddington Road agreement, the Garda representative bodies similarly engaged constructively.

I am aware Deputy Ó Fearghaíl is pushing me to do something his party has never agreed to do at any time it was in government throughout the history of the State. It is always interesting to try-----

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