Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We will support the general principle of the Bill. During the legislative process we may seek to table some amendments to improve and enhance it, but in the main we welcome the opportunity to speak on it. It is important and timely that we acknowledge the challenges that members of trade unions and workers across this country have gone through in rebuilding the State's finances and in the sacrifices they have made in both the public and private sectors. This is very evident if one looks back at the financial emergency measures in the public interest, FEMPI, cuts that were introduced, which had a profound impact on people's take-home pay. This was emergency legislation introduced to underpin the basic financial viability of the State when it was threatened by forces in the form of the financial crisis coupled with an internal recession and a collapse of the housing market.

The reason I highlight this is that it is critically important to acknowledge that during the passage of that legislation, very often there were concerns and protests on the streets. We sometimes had tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of people on the streets protesting pay cuts or cuts to public services. People are entitled to protest freely and wilfully and in a peaceful manner, in fact this is a sign of a healthy democracy, but of course one organisation that is equally obliged to maintain the peace is An Garda Síochána. If members of An Garda Síochána were equally involved in these protests, there would have been a very difficult position to address in the event of them turning violent or public disorder becoming part and parcel of a protest either in the main or on the fringes.

This is why this legislation is welcome. It acknowledges the critical role An Garda Síochána plays in the protection of the State, upholding the rule of law and keeping the peace. For all that we need to accept that members of the Garda must be treated differently in how we assess their pay and terms and conditions and equally their contractual obligations to the State. I welcome the Bill from this perspective. Members of An Garda Síochána should be entitled to collective bargaining, as has been highlighted by the Council of Europe's European Committee of Social Rights. There should be some formal process whereby An Garda Síochána can go to our industrial relations process, the apparatus of the State, and have their grievances aired and their terms and conditions scrutinised and even set. Of course, every sovereign government is entitled to be the final arbitrators on the pay and conditions of any public sector employee or organisation. The system we have in place is a voluntary form of industrial relations whereby people go to the Workplace Relations Commission, their grievances can be heard and the Labour Court can adjudicate if there are still issues to be addressed or to see whether or not they have been maintained. As I said, An Garda Síochána should be entitled to access these processes. Equally, however, there is no way we could as a State or as a people allow a member of An Garda Síochána or the organisation collectively to withdraw its labour, which is effectively what an industrial dispute is. It is the threat of workers, and their entitlement, to withdraw their labour to highlight grievances they have with their employers, the employer in this case being the State itself.

Some will say that every worker has this entitlement, but equally An Garda Síochána has a special status within the State in the sense that, as the Minister of State outlined, it has extraordinary powers conferred on it. Of course, all these powers are conferred on it by this Parliament, underpinned by the Constitution, so they could be mitigated and withdrawn if Parliament so deemed it necessary. The Garda has extraordinary powers, both as individuals and collectively as an organisation, but only within the rule of law. If a member of An Garda Síochána breaches the rule of law, then as with everyone else, there is a sanction for that.

There are a number of reasons we are here. First and foremost, the European Committee of Social Rights, in EuroCOP v. Ireland, found that the State was not in compliance with a number of elements of the European Social Charter. This is non-binding, but at the same time we like to comply when and if we can and as best we can with these recommendations from the various committees adjudicating on Ireland's performance vis-à-visEuropean obligations. The ECSR identified a number of breaches: in respect of Article 5, concerning the right to organise, on the grounds of the prohibition of police representative associations joining national employment organisations; in respect of Article 6.2, concerning the right to bargain collectively, on the grounds of restricted access of police representative associations to pay agreements and discussions; and in respect of Article 6.4, on the grounds of the prohibition faced by members of the police of the right to strike. The ECSR also indicated that restrictions on the exercise of the right to strike, such as requirements relating to the mode and form of industrial action, were acceptable. The type of restriction was not detailed in the ECSR's EuroCOP decision.

In a way, then, the ECSR did find against the State in certain areas, but it equally accepts the fact that members of An Garda Síochána hold a special place. A precedent for this has been set in the context of the Permanent Defence Force Other Ranks Representative Association, PDFORRA, and the Defence Forces themselves. I do not think anyone would suggest we could have members of An Garda Síochána and members of the Defence Forces actively involved in an industrial dispute at the behest of a trade union movement to further the rights, terms and working conditions and pay of either the individuals in those organisation or other workers in some other part of the economy. It simply would not be accepted and would do a grave disservice to the State.

Just as important, it would do a grave disservice to the standing of An Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces. I appreciate that Deputies do not need to give one another history lessons, but I remind the House that An Garda Síochána has served the State exceptionally well. It has been very loyal to the State and, in the main, the State has been very loyal to it in terms of trying to ensure gardaí are protected by the law as they go about their business of ensuring the country functions, the law is upheld and peace is maintained. People may take those sorts of things for granted now, but they were threatened at various times in recent history. The members of the Garda did their duty in that context. Some of them gave their lives in defence of the State. We need to try to find a mechanism for accepting that members of the force will have grievances from time to time, that they are entitled to air those grievances and be listened to, and that there is an obligation on the State to respond to those grievances in a positive way. This Bill has done that. Ultimately, the State and the Government should always hold the entitlement to set pay and conditions in emergency circumstances like those of the past decade.

The members of An Garda Síochána who are being recruited at present deserve good working conditions. There is no doubt that the freeze on promotions and transfers brought about a certain element of despondency for a number of years. The gardaí who get up in the morning and put on their uniforms are proud and passionate about wearing those uniforms. They look forward to going to the workplace, engaging with society, upholding the peace and ensuring we have a lawful and orderly country. We should acknowledge that An Garda Síochána is, by and large, a force that works on structures and order. We need to look at how we can facilitate Garda transfers in very difficult personal circumstances. Members of the force are sometimes posted in areas that are not near their homes, the places where they previously resided or the locations they and their families come from. In recent years, difficulties have been caused by the freeze in transfers that were normally accommodated on a compassionate basis. This led to a great deal of anxiety and disquiet among some members of the force. They were unable to transfer closer to home when their parents or other relatives were ill. We are recruiting gardaí and expanding the force, but the human element must also be taken into account as we try to address the concerns of individuals. I know this cannot always be done. There must be some understanding of the plight of individuals. We have encountered traumatic cases which we have been unable to address through the normal process or through any process. There is no real process other than the internal Garda Síochána process, which is hierarchical. Messages always come from the top down. We should be able to be more imaginative, understanding and compassionate in such cases.

This Bill represents a step in the right direction. It is acknowledging something that needs to be acknowledged. There have been previous cases of industrial action by An Garda Síochána. I do not believe the Garda was well served when services were withdrawn, in effect, in the case of the blue flu. Citizens have huge loyalty to the members of the police force in this country. We are policed by consent rather than by fear. Gardaí are unarmed, by and large, and I hope that remains the case for a long time to come. I hope we do not give in to the pressure that exists across the western world to have a heavily armed police force on the streets. While I understand it is necessary to have armed response units, I believe the presence of the uniform without heavy armoury reflects well on Ireland and Irish society. It encourages the public to support An Garda Síochána and encourages An Garda Síochána to work for the public. It has stood the test of time for the State, the Garda and the people of this country.

The GRA and PDFORRA should give this legislation time to work. The State and the Government should reciprocate that patience so that when grievances arise, gardaí can go to the Workplace Relations Commission and, if necessary, the Labour Court. In such circumstances, a positive response must come from the State and the Government to ensure we have a harmonious police force and defence force. The members of An Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces must be well rewarded for the risks they take daily to maintain peace in other parts of the world. I commend the Bill to the House.

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