Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I fear that the Government does not yet realise the significance of and danger attached to yesterday's announcement. We, as legislators, and Ministers, as members of the Executive, cannot allow a situation where members of An Garda Síochána see themselves as having no option other than to go on strike. The legal system in the State is dependent on members of An Garda Síochána being available to the public and in the community to enforce the law. If they break the law and go on strike, it will put the legal system in an extremely serious position. The Minister is the person with responsibility to resolve the dispute and six weeks are available to the parties involved to resolve it before the first day of strike action. We hope that what happened in the dispute between Dublin Bus and the bus workers' union will not happen in this case. It is imperative that the Government become involved to resolve the dispute which is more important than any other industrial dispute. The grievances of members of An Garda Síochána need to be recognised and dealt with by the Department in the talks.

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