Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Fianna Fáil supports the passing of the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Bill 2018 in the Dáil today. I am chair of the Committee on Business, Enterprise and Innovation, and this Bill has come before our committee on several occasions. Citizens are indebted to An Garda Síochána for its courageous and heroic acts. Gardaí put themselves in the line of fire while policing communities on a daily basis. They keep us safe from harm. This Bill will enable members of An Garda Síochána to access the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court to help resolve industrial disputes. This is very welcome. Services extended would include mediation, conciliation and adjudication from the Workplace Relations Commission, and the use of the Labour Court, if necessary.

In 2014 the Euopean Committee of Social Rights, ECSR, in the Council of Europe found that Ireland was in breach of several articles of the European Social Charter, including article 5, the right to organise, article 6(2), the right to bargain collectively, and article 6(4), the right to strike. My party believes that associate membership of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions should be extended to Garda representative bodies to enhance their negotiation position regarding pay and conditions. Gardaí should be allowed to join and to take an active part in negotiations. This policy was supported by the ECSR in its 2014 determination.

The Government has constantly denied there is a problem with rural crime, saying that the statistics are down. However, that is not the experience of families living in rural Ireland. My party has successfully campaigned in recent budget negotiations to increase the number of gardaí, but greater investment is required for the force and for the communities it protects. This is a key piece of legislation, and I hope it passes through the remaining stages swiftly and is enacted as soon as possible.

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