Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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333. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality her views on a matter (details supplied) regarding An Garda Síochána; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39507/15]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Lansdowne Road Agreement (LRA) represents Government policy in relation to industrial relations until 2018. As the Deputy will be aware my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, has brought forward the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Bill 2015 to give effect to the Lansdowne Road Agreement. The Bill starts the process of the phased restoration of remuneration to public servants, including members of An Garda Siochána.The Bill also provides for the suspension of the operation of incremental pay scales in respect of any public servant who is not encompassed by a registered agreement.

The LRA is not, of course, solely about beginning the process of restoring remuneration, it is also about securing the enhanced efficiencies and performance delivered by the earlier Haddington Road and Croke Park Agreements. Specifically in relation to members of An Garda Síochána, the LRA provides for the continuation of the obligation under the Haddingtion Road Agreement to work an additional 30 hours per year. As the Agreement identifies 10 of these hours as overtime which is to taken as compulsory time-off in lieu, the actual additional hours per member are 15. The Garda Representative Association and the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors have informed me that their members have rejected the LRA, as is their right. I met representatives of both Associations last week and it was agreed that a useful next step would be to tease out the implications of their position. Arrangements are in train for meetings to take place with officials of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform for this purpose.

As the Deputy suggests, in the event that the Associations do not become party to the LRA, there will be a loss of hours available to the Garda Commissioner from 1 January 2016, although not of the order suggested by the Deputy. It will, of course, be a matter for the Garda Commissioner who has responsibility for the distribution of resources to manage this. I would, however, draw the Government's commitment to the ongoing recruitment of trainee Gardaí to the Deputy's attention. The Budget provision for 2016 provides for the recruitment of an additional 600 Gardaí and these positions will be advertised shortly. This will bring to 1150 the total recruitment of Garda Trainees since the reopening of the Garda College in September 2014.