The Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern has rejected suggestions from the Garda Representative Association (GRA) that there is no legal impediment to the force going on strike.
Mr Ahern said the legal advice he received was “very strong” that such a strike would break the law.
Some members of the GRA have suggested there is no legal impediment to a strike although the force has never taken such action in the State since independence.
Speaking during a visit to UCD’s Cybercrime institute this morning, Mr Ahern said ordinary rank and file gardaí understand the implications of strike action.
In a questionnaire sent out to all members, 93 per cent said they should take some form of industrial action. However, less than half of the 11,600 garda polled participated in the questionnaire.
Mr Ahern said a questionnaire was “easy” and it was not a ballot for industrial action.
He added: “I don’t think people would appreciate the Gardaí going on strike. My legal advice is very strong on this and we made this clear before Christmas that this is something they couldn’t and shouldn’t embark on.
“We have the Garda Síochána doing the whole panoply of crime and national security so it is vital that the people have full confidence in them so that they do not bend with every whim. It should be a bedrock of any democracy.”
He also stated that Irish garda are among the best paid and best resourced in Europe.
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