AGSI to begin industrial action on Friday

Garda authorities will take whatever measures they can to ensure the best possible policing service i

s in place during planned Garda strikes, the Department of Justice has said.

It emerged yesterday that Tánaiste and Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald had not had discussions with the Garda Commissioner Nóirín O'Sullivan regarding plans to deal with planned industrial action by members of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) and the Garda Representative Association (GRA).

Highly placed sources said the department considered such contingency arrangements to be an operational matter for Garda management.

November strikes

The AGSI is to begin limited industrial action tomorrow involving a refusal to log on to the Garda Pulse IT system. This action is to escalate further in the weeks ahead. Members of the AGSI and the GRA are scheduled to stage four days of full strike action in November.

A spokesman for Ms Fitzgerald said last night she had made it clear her focus has been on attempting to resolve the dispute. “Of course, background contingency planning is ongoing,” the spokesman said. “The Tánaiste and the Department of Justice will continue to liaise closely with the Garda authorities about all aspects of the dispute. The Garda authorities will take whatever measures possible to ensure the best possible policing service remains in place whatever the circumstances.”

He said the Garda associations had made public comments about their willingness to provide cover in emergency circumstances. “So the question of contingency arrangements [is] being addressed, but the focus remains on resolving the dispute.”

Separately, Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Paschal Donohoe said if gardaí went on strike it would have serious consequences for all involved including the Government. He said the Government was trying to deal with the issues within the framework of the Lansdowne Road agreement and without de-stabilising the public service wage bill, which stands at more than €15 billion this year.

Wage bill

“We have to ensure if we reach agreement with the Garda bodies in relation to this that it does not have consequences elsewhere for the public service wage bill that creates consequences that the Government and the taxpayer currently cannot afford,” he told

RTÉ

Radio.

He said he had utmost respect for the work of gardaí and the dangers and difficult circumstances they faced. However, he also had to be mindful of the agreement the Government had with other groups of public servants. He said more than 20 other unions, representing about 250,000 staff, had signed up to the Lansdowne Road agreement.

Department of Justice officials are scheduled to hold talks with the AGSI today and the GRA tomorrow. A source in the department said it had not yet responded to the claim for 16.5 per cent in pay restoration sought by the AGSI, although this issue will almost certainly be discussed at the talks.

However, the source was adamant that any resolution to the threatened strikes and industrial action had to be found within the confines of the Lansdowne Road agreement.