Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I accept that our amendment has been ruled out of order, but I hope the Minister of State, Deputy Breen, will note the sentiment behind it. He referred last week to the review that is being conducted. He may be aware that we had some lively discussion in this House earlier today on issues relating to the Defence Forces. We have asked that the Taoiseach come to the Seanad to address our wider concerns in this regard. The aspects of this legislation relating to the Garda Síochána are welcome, but we must look now to extending the same courtesy to members of the Defence Forces. To reiterate, these provisions do not give gardaí the right to strike but, rather, to have recourse to the industrial relations apparatus of the State to resolve issues. I hope the Minister of State will agree to address our concerns in legislation before too long.