Last October, the Government promised to introduce legislation to permit the representative associations of An Garda Síochána to have access to the industrial relations mechanism of the State. I ask the Minister and the Taoiseach when that legislation is going to be brought before the House. Have the Minister and Government consulted with the representative associations before finalising that legislation? I am thinking about the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors, AGSI, and Garda Representative Association, GRA, in particular.

It is my intention to meet with the representative bodies at the earliest opportunity. There are a number of pieces of legislation which are taking up considerable time in the House that I would hope to see processed in the course of the next few weeks. I will avail of the opportunity and would be very happy to report directly to the Deputy.