Written answers

Tuesday, 17 May 2016

Department of Justice and Equality

Ministerial Meetings

Photo of Thomas ByrneThomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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8. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if she has met recently with the representative organisations of members of An Garda Síochána; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9971/16]

Photo of Frances FitzgeraldFrances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I keep in regular contact with the Garda representative bodies. As regards recent meetings, I met with the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) on the 20 April last and have indicated that I am open to meeting them again shortly. I met the Garda Representative Association (GRA) on 27 January and expect to meet them again within the next two weeks. In addition, my officials engage with the Associations through various industrial relations fora and bilaterally. Indeed, they have met the GRA, AGSI and the Association of Garda Superintendents within the last few days and further discussions are planned, including with the Association of Chief Superintendents.

As the Deputy will be aware both the GRA and AGSI have rejected the Lansdowne Road Agreement. That is their right and I understand that there are a variety of reasons for their rejection of the Agreement. The Programme for Government restates the Government's commitment to the Lansdowne Road Agreement as the framework for industrial relations and pay determination within the public serviceuntil 2018. Within this framework, the Programme commits to the establishment of a Commission for Public Sector Pay to examine pay levels across the public service, including entry levels of pay, and to the gradual, negotiated repeal of the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (FEMPI) Acts.

I am very conscious of the frustration of members of An Garda Síochána at the pace of pay restoration; it is a frustration shared by all public servants who played a significant part in stabilising the public finances and bringing about the economic recovery. The Commission, when established, will provide the forum for the consideration of matters relating to the pay of all public servants, including members of An Garda Síochána for the coming years, and I am committed to doing everything in my power to assist the Associations in ensuring that their members - the men and women of An Garda Síochána - are appropriately rewarded for the challenging and often dangerous work that they do on our behalf, day in day out. In my view, this can best be achieved by their participation in the Commission within the framework of the Lansdowne Road Agreement.

My Department and I will continue to engage actively with the GRA and AGSI, in particular, over the coming weeks with the objective of creating a pathway to their re-engagement with the Lansdowne Road Agreement. I see this process addressing, to the greatest extent possible, the main issues of concern to the Associations and their members, including the decision of the European Committee of Social Rights in EuroCop v Ireland and I can assure the Deputy that I will be approaching these discussions positively with the ambition of reaching a solution that works for the Associations, their members, and the public at large.

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