Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I do not want to go into the details of contingency arrangements when the Labour Court is sitting in an effort to resolve this dispute so as not to have industrial action take place on Friday. I met the Minister for Justice and Equality, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and the Garda Commissioner and her senior staff during the course of the week and asked that question about contingency arrangements. The Garda Commissioner, who is responsible for the day-to-day running of the Garda, will obviously make available whatever resources are available to her. That is being followed through by superintendents contacting each individual garda about their requirements for work on Friday. They will deal with sergeants, inspectors and members of the Garda. Every superintendent will have contacted them personally within their station areas so there will be a figure as to what numbers will be available on Friday. The numbers available to the Garda Commissioner will include superintendents and, where appropriate, probationary gardaí or recruits.

The Garda Representative Association has already indicated the emergency response unit and the armed regional support units will be asked to report for duty as normal. It wants to see special arrangements in respect of the national surveillance unit and the technical bureau. These units are at the heart of any response to a threat that arises to the protection of the State in so far as the Garda is concerned.

The Commissioner moved yesterday to have every garda contacted. The Commissioner is also endeavouring to prioritise certain areas, including armed response, community safety and protection, which involves the operation of the 999 facilities, security and intelligence, and maintaining a presence at airports and ports to ensure they continue to operate normally. Calls will be answered when calls come in as they do every day, even with the full force on duty.

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