Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 May 2016
94. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the timescale for the Garda Síochána pay review, given that the chair of the review body has resigned; and if she anticipates increments being withheld from gardaí from July 2016 if no progress is made, owing to the expiry of the protections under the Public Service Stability Agreement 2013 to 2016. [11813/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am committed to the completion of the review of An Garda Síochána under the Haddington Road Agreement as soon as possible. With that aim in mind, my officials are consulting with the Garda representatives bodies in relation to how the review can be progressed in view of the recent resignation of the Chairperson.
The Garda Representative Association (GRA) and the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (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 service until 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.
As the Deputy is aware it is the case that the FEMPI Acts provide that any public servant who is not encompassed by a collective agreement, that is to say the Lansdowne Road Agreement, will forego the protections of that Agreement come July and be liable to a suspension of their incremental pay scale until 2018. I do not want to see this come to pass and my Department and I will continue to actively engage with the GRA and AGSI 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.
