Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for the approach he has taken. The Government understands the very real anger that is out there which, as I said, is shared by many in the public sector and the public at large because of the very tough decisions that had to be taken in recent years and the impact that has been felt so deeply by many people, including gardaí, who feel it very deeply. However, it is important to be clear that withdrawal of service, industrial action or threats of industrial action will not achieve something in contravention of wider public pay policy. Nonetheless, I believe there is scope for an agreement, which is what we want to focus on.

Intensive work is ongoing. The Deputy asked about meetings with the GRA. There have been meetings today and there is a meeting with the AGSI again tomorrow. I assume these meetings will continue. Detailed discussions are ongoing which I hope can lead to satisfactory outcomes, with goodwill all round.

In regard to the contingency planning, as I said, I have met with the Garda Commissioner in this regard and we are liaising very closely with the Garda authorities about all aspects of the dispute, as the Deputy would expect. The Garda associations have already stated that some emergency cover would be provided. The extent and nature of that cover is very important in terms of managing the situation. The Garda Commissioner will have to take any and all actions available to her to mitigate the impact and effects of any withdrawal of labour.

There is no point pretending the planned action, if it goes ahead, will not constitute a very significant challenge to this country. Given the scale of the work the 12,800 gardaí do, day in, day out, whether in regard to cash in transit escorts, preventing burglaries, gathering intelligence, dealing with fatal road traffic accidents and the whole range of other work they do, it is a hugely significant issue if that labour is withdrawn and would have a huge impact. I make no apology for repeating that the focus of the Government remains on engagement, negotiations and, ultimately, finding a pathway to resolution and agreement in the coming days. We want all sides to keep talking, discussing and trying to find a solution. That is what is happening at present and I hope we will have a positive outcome.

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