Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for attending the Seanad to discuss this Bill. As he will recall, during this Bill's progression in the Dáil, Sinn Féin referenced its Trade Union (Garda Síochána and Defence Forces) Bill 2017 in the debate. Our Bill, if enacted, would allow members of the Irish Defence Forces and of An Garda Síochána to be classified as workers in legislation and give them the option to form trade unions. This would give them full access to the State's industrial relations mechanisms while making it illegal for An Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces to engage in strike action for reasons of public safety and national security. Rulings by the European Court of Human Rights and the Council of Europe, the increase in industrial action within An Garda Síochána, and the continued negative treatment by the State of members of the Defence Force in terms of pay and conditions were all reasons we introduced our Bill. The continued ban in this State on trade unions within An Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces is in violation of international agreements and the fundamental rights of those employed in those sectors. The Industrial Relations (Amendment) Bill 2018 has a similar aim, albeit considerably more limited, to amend the Industrial Relations Act 1990 to allow just members of An Garda Síochána and their representative associations to access the State's industrial relations mechanisms, namely, the WRC and the Labour Court. Gardaí have waited too long to be allowed access to the industrial relations mechanisms of the State resulting in internal disputes escalating due to no forum being available to address conflicts at an early stage. Therefore, although this move is long overdue, it is very welcome.

My party also believes that members of the Garda and the Defence Forces should also be allowed to join a trade union, if they wish. Members of the Defence Forces should also be allowed to access the WRC and Labour Court in the same way that gardaí will be permitted under this Bill. Although these changes for members of An Garda Síochána are welcome, they are far more limited than what Sinn Féin had previously proposed. Therefore, we intend to bring forward amendments at a later stage to help strengthen the rights of gardaí and members of the Defence Forces.

We take this opportunity to express again our concern about the backlog of cases in the WRC. Information received by my party shows that in July 2018, there were 3,140 complaints waiting to be heard in the WRC with almost half of them waiting 12 months or more. In addition, 1,473 cases were waiting for a decision. These existing delays are a cause for concern as many of these people find it difficult to find alternative work while waiting for their cases to be heard due to their previous employment being under examination. This Bill will give gardaí access to the WRC, which of course is welcome, but undoubtedly it will add to these waiting lists. I ask the Minister of State to outline in his reply how he plans to deal with this.

On Report and Final States in the Dáil my colleague, Deputy Quinlivan, tabled an amendment that was ruled out of order. His amendment sought to change the definition of the worker, contained in section 8 of the Industrial Relations Act 1990, by deleting the words "but does not include a member of the Defence Forces or of the Garda Síochána". We believe both members of the Garda and the Defence Forces should be treated as employees when it comes to industrial relations issues. They should have access to the WRC to ensure they have a venue to bring employment related concerns and complaints. Perhaps the Minister of State could expand on why members of the Defence Forces have been actively excluded from this legislation. Why does he and the Government believe that members of the Defence Forces should not have access to the WRC?

We intend to bring forward amendments to strengthen this Bill, as we did in the Dáil. I thank the Minister of State for bringing the Bill forward as it is a step in the right direction and, therefore, we will support the Bill.