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