THE Garda Siochana Bill 1996, was circulated by the Government last week, contains an extraordinary provision allowing a Minister for Justice to dissolve a Garda staff association if it does not meet conditions set by the statute.
The Bill says that if the Minister is satisfied that the association has not conformed to a requirement of the Act or Garda regulations, she can dissolve it within 30 days.
The Bill could become law within a year. It has been framed following two years of failed attempts to resolve an acrimonious dispute involving the Garda Representative Association, dissident members who broke away and formed their own association, the Garda Federation, and members of four provincial Garda divisions, who also broke away from the GRA but did not join the federation.
At last year's GRA conference, with the prospect of legislation on the horizon, the association threatened that it would seek affiliation to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) and challenge the legislation through the courts.
This followed extraordinary scenes at the 1994 GRA conference, where dissident gardai prevented the conference from taking place and picketed the hotel.
As the dispute developed, the then Minister for Justice, Mrs Maire Geoghegan Quinn, threatened to dissolve the GRA and form a new association.
Within weeks, however, she was out of office and, thereafter, the GRA, under its general secretary, Mr John Ferry, a tough, former detective, has refused to be moved by the threat of dissolution.
The association rejected proposals to reconstitute itself and to bring back in dissident members on agreed grounds. It held resolutely to the position that a democratic state should not seek to interfere in the internal workings of any staff association or union.
Recently, however, the GRA appears less strident and more effective in its dealings with the Department of Justice.
Unless the annual conference in Waterford opts to introduce an emergency motion on the Bill, debate on the new law is likely to be deferred to a special delegate conference. The conference debates are expected to concentrate on the stock in trade issues of pay and conditions.
For the past six months the GRA has concentrated on lobbying and devised a more meaningful strategy towards the dispute and the inherent threat to its liberty in the legislation. It has, according to sources close to its leadership, lost its "siege mentality" and begun to negotiate more effectively with the Department of Justice and Garda management.
As a result, both the Minister for Justice, Mrs Owen and the Garda Commissioner will be at, this year's conference with the normal protocols and niceties of a proper working relationship being observed.
Last year, the GRA succeeded in defeating a proposal that the Government would recognise the breakaway Garda Federation as a separate association for gardai. The Bill states that there will be only one representative association for officers of garda rank.
Over the coming year, as the Bill is further circulated and comes up for debate and redrafting, the Government may row back on its threat to include the dissolution clause.
However, the dispute with the dissident gardai which precipitated the legislation proposals, still simmers on.
Only yesterday, three of the GRA's former executive members, who left to found the Garda Federation, were in the High Court seeking a judicial review of the way in which they were disciplined and expelled from the GRA. The judicial review, set for July 17th, could give them leave to take a defamation case against their former staff association.
The Garda Federation is also planning to hold meetings to oppose the Government's legislation and may hold a series of protest meetings. Aware of the GRA's achievements since hiring lobbyist and PR consultant Mr P.J. Mara, the federation has retained the services of consultant Mr Bill O'Herlihy.