Dan Neville
Question:248 Mr. Neville asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will give details of his recent discussions with Garda representatives on pay demands. [17277/97]
Written Answers. - Garda Pay.
I met the representative associations for the Garda Síochána last week concerning, inter alia, the issue of Garda pay.
I informed the associations that there were issues to be addressed in relation to Garda pay and welcomed the offer of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions to assist in identifying a workable mechanism to enable all the issues to be considered.
Stressing that the outcome of these considerations will have to be set in the context of Government policy on public sector pay, I informed the associations that the Government will immediately consider the report of the review of Garda efficiency and effectiveness and will examine how the issues affecting the structure of Garda pay and allowances might be addressed in the context of delivering the changes recommended in the report.
I urged the associations to make early contact with ICTU and offered to make the arrangements to ensure that the ICTU process commences quickly.
It is a matter of public knowledge that one association has expressed opposition to the arrangements envisaged. However, I do not believe it would be helpful, in terms of addressing the issues involved, if I were to provide further details of the discussions that took place, or if I were to speculate about future progress in this regard.