Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I know Deputy Martin raises this issue out of genuine concern that this industrial action should not take place and that the public can be assured that gardaí will do their duty as they always have done. Were this to happen on Friday, and I hope it does not, there will be no winners. It is always inevitable that in any industrial dispute nobody gets exactly what they are seeking. The arrangements made in respect of the deal on the table have been published and these would provide approximately €3,000 on average to members of the force in the next 15 months. That is in addition to the €1,000 that all public servants will receive under the Lansdowne Road agreement next September and to the increments restored to gardaí. New recruits would receive the rent allowance of €4,159.

Deputy Martin makes an important point. I recall when various arrangements for public pay and conditions were dealt with previously, gardaí always said they were outside the room, they had no input, no contribution to make and were not treated in the way they felt they should be. It is an important issue for gardaí. The Government has accepted the principle of having the machinery of the State available in the form of the WRC and the Labour Court. At yesterday's Cabinet meeting, I asked the Attorney General and the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality to move as quickly as possible to bring forward the heads of whatever legislative measure would be necessary to give effect to that. I am quite sure the House will support us.

Professor Horgan’s report, which is being examined and is due to be published by December, will feed into that presentation of the sort of structure of the road ahead and how that can happen. I would like it to happen as quickly as possible. I assure the Deputy that it is the absolute intention of the Government that this machinery should be available on a permanent basis to gardaí from now on, having been made available on an ad hocbasis on this occasion.

The work of the public sector pay commission is under way. The commission is quite entitled to contract for itself work on specific issues about Garda pay and conditions, nurses’ pay and conditions or anything else. That is entirely within its remit. It is well known that we have to have a successor to the Lansdowne Road agreement. Normally, as one prepares for the budget in the way that business is now done, there is the spring statement and the national economic conference. These normally took place in May or June. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has indicated that he would like to see the commencement of debates and discussions about a successor to the Lansdowne Road agreement sometime before then. I cannot give the Deputy an exact date but that is the Minister's intention. I do not want to say anything now that would disrupt the conversations that will happen with the GRA, the AGSI and the Labour Court, which is the highest arbitration body in the country. I do hope and appeal again to people on all sides, that if it is the independent view of the Labour Court that gardaí should resile from industrial action on Friday, they would do so and have the court examine independently the issues on the table.

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