Kenny says he hopes gardaí will respect Labour Court decision

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said he hopes the garda representative groups will listen carefully to what the Labour Court has to say on Friday's planned industrial action.

“Nobody in this country wants to see a situation where, for the first time ever, the Garda force and members of the AGSI will withdraw their services from doing their public duty.’’

Mr Kenny said he would appeal again to "people on all sides'' to accept gardaí should resile from the strike if that was the independent view of the Labour Court, and have it examine the issues on the table.

Mr Kenny was speaking at Opposition Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil on Wednesday shortly before the GRA attended a Labour Court hearing.

These talks began shortly after 2pm and at 4.30pm these talks were adjourned until 8pm.

The AGSI is due to attend the Labour Court tomorrow.

The Taoiseach warned there would be "no winners'' if the strike went ahead. There was one thing they could not escape from. "There are 280,000 other public servants who have signed up for a deal under the Lansdowne Road agreement. And we have to treat everybody in the same way.'' Seriousness He said the issue was of the utmost seriousness for the country, society and for An Garda Síochána.

The Cabinet had discussed the matter in some detail on Tuesday, and was briefed on the “very significant’’ offer made to resolve the dispute.

“We have made it perfectly clear it must be resolved within the constraints and limits of the Lansdowne Road agreement.’’

Mr Kenny said for many years gardaí had looked for access to the State machinery in terms of settling disputes and the Government had accepted that principle. The WRC (Workplace Relations Commission) was available on an ad hoc basis until the access was put in place on a statutory basis.

He said he had asked Attorney General Máire Whelan and Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald to move as quickly as possible in bringing forward the heads of the legislation required.