“I believe there is a pathway to progress on these issues and my Department and I remain available to work with the GRA”

1 July 2016

My officials and I have had discussions with the Garda Representative Association (GRA) over the last number of weeks aimed at facilitating their engagement with the Lansdowne Road Agreement. Unfortunately, as of now the GRA remains outside the Agreement. The members of the GRA have exercised their democratic mandate and I respect their right to do so, however, the decision not to become party to the Agreement has significant consequences for their members.

As of today, members of the GRA will forego the benefits and protections associated with the Agreement. In practical terms this means that they will be subject to an increment freeze. No-one wishes to impose an increment freeze on members of An Garda Síochána, or indeed on any other public servant, but it is the law.

We must also, of course, be fair to the vast bulk of public servants who have accepted the Agreement and are cooperating with its terms. This group includes the Associations representing Superintendents and Chief Superintendents in An Garda Síochána. The other Garda representative body, the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) decided, earlier this week, to re-ballot their membership with a recommendation to accept the Agreement. I very much welcome that decision by AGSI and their members will not be subject to any increment freeze while that ballot is in train.

While agreement was reached with the AGSI on a pathway to restoring the rent allowance- worth €4,155 annually to new recruits - before the end of this year, those provisions cannot become operative unless the GRA accepts the Agreement. I know that the restoration of the rent allowance is something that the GRA has advocated for on behalf of new recruits and it is very regrettable that this opportunity for their pay to be significantly increased is lost.

My door remains open for discussions on issues of concern. I genuinely believe that it would be in the best interests of their members and An Garda Síochána as a whole for the GRA to engage with my Department. It is only through talking that their concerns can be addressed. I believe there is a pathway to progress on these issues and my Department and I remain available to work with the GRA.

ENDS

Note to Editors:

The decision of the AGSI follows discussions aimed at addressing their concerns in relation to:

· the commitment to a Review of An Garda Síochána under the Haddington Road Agreement (and now carried forward in the Lansdowne Road Agreement),
· access to pay determination mechanisms including implementation of the EuroCOP finding,
· access to the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court,
· the implementation of the additional hours required to be worked under the Lansdowne Road Agreement, and
· the restoration of the rent allowance to new recruits.