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

We are now less than 19 hours away from a Garda strike. This country and its people are entering uncharted territory. A police strike is unprecedented in this country and highly unusual internationally. It should be avoided if at all possible. The people of this country should not be put in a position where they might find themselves without the protection of An Garda Síochána tomorrow.

There are two parties to this dispute. Everyone has asked the first party to the dispute - the Garda Representative Association and the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors - to postpone Friday's strike. Everyone in this House knows that members of the force do not want to go on strike. We all know they take their oath very seriously. We all know they have served this country with distinction through many difficult times.

To date, the second party to this dispute - the Government - has managed the dispute incompetently. It has allowed a Mexican stand-off to develop between it and the Garda associations. The effect of its actions and inactions has been to harden positions rather than to address the legitimate grievances of An Garda Síochána. The Government has allowed the gulf between it and the Garda to get deeper and deeper. It has provided an example of how not to deal with or mediate in an industrial relations dispute. It has allowed an industrial dispute to become a national crisis.

The Government has fallen down in three areas. First, we have all known for months that an industrial crisis has been brewing within An Garda Síochána. It was for that reason that we included in the confidence and supply agreement a requirement for a public service pay commission to be established. Even though that was agreed in May, we had to wait until two weeks ago for details of the commission to be announced. Second, gardaí have a legitimate grievance about being locked out of the industrial relations mechanisms of the State. A huge part of this dispute centres on the fact that gardaí think no one in the Government is listening to them and they do not have any mechanism whereby the Government can listen to them. The Taoiseach announced yesterday that the law in this regard is to be changed. Can we let the Garda associations know in what way the law is going to be changed? Does the Government intend to amend the Industrial Relations Acts or the Garda Síochána Acts? The associations need to be given information about this significant achievement for them.

Third, rather than keeping the public, which is the most important party in this dispute, informed about what will happen tomorrow, the Government has been silent in this regard. The Tánaiste is politically responsible for the gardaí who protect us. The Garda Commissioner sent out letters the other day requiring members of the force to attend for duty tomorrow. Has the Garda Commissioner apprised the Tánaiste of how many members of the Garda will turn up for work tomorrow? Will Garda stations be open? Will 999 calls be answered? What will the Tánaiste and the Government do to ensure the people of this country are safe tomorrow?

See this speech in context