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

This working group has been established to consider the technical legislative changes required to provide the Garda associations with access to the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court. This will involve consideration of a number of important and complex issues. The group brings together officials from the Departments and bodies with the relevant expertise and responsibility in these areas and Mr John Murphy, retired Secretary General in the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation is chairing the group.

I accept that the Garda associations have a very significant interest in the work being done here. I am certainly not excluding them from this process. In the past few weeks, I have met the Garda associations and had detailed discussions with them on these matters. The working group is to report to me with proposals to amend existing legislation. I want the working group to take an initial view on these complex and technical issues. I want them to consult with all interested parties. I have made arrangements for them to meet with all representative associations in a timely manner. I have made that very clear to the associations and to the chair of the working group. Some of those meetings have taken place and there are more to come. The initial consultations with the Garda associations took place on 16 March. A consultation paper setting out options in respect of the key issues under consideration will shortly circulate to the associations. There will be further consultations and very close contact with the associations.

How this issue is dealt with is of vital interest to the associations, the Government and society. The associations are certainly not being excluded from the process.

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