The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by the Garda Representative Association and Amy Bourke over regulations that changed sick leave arrangements for members of An Garda Síochána and other public servants.
The appeal challenged the lawfulness of the Public Service Management (Sick Leave) Regulations 2014, which took effect on 31 March 2014. The appellants argued, among other things, that they had a right to consultation or an opportunity to make representations before the changes were introduced, and that the history of engagement created a legitimate expectation of such a process.
Delivering the Court’s judgment on 7 February 2018, Chief Justice Clarke said the 2013 legislation under which the regulations were made operated notwithstanding other legislation, including the 2005 Garda Síochána Act provisions for representative associations to comment on certain draft regulations. The Court concluded that those provisions did not confer a right to be consulted on regulations made under the 2013 Act. It also found no general consultation duty implied by that Act for regulations of this kind, which potentially applied across the public service.
The judgment recounted that Garda representative bodies had been involved in discussions about sick leave changes from at least May 2012. A working group opposed including Gardaí in the new scheme pending a review. An initial indication that Gardaí would not be included was later reversed, and the Government announced in December 2013 that they would be covered. The regulations were signed in March 2014 and took effect later that month.
The Court did not finally decide whether restrictions on Garda members’ industrial relations activities, or the history of engagement, might give rise to some general right to consultation or representations. It considered the appeal on the assumption that such a right might exist, while stressing that this would not guarantee a particular process or outcome.
It found that the GRA had a reasonable opportunity over an extended period to make its case, including its position that Gardaí should be exempt pending a separate review. The Court therefore held that no breach of any such general entitlement had been established. It dismissed the appeal and affirmed the orders of the High Court and Court of Appeal. The judgment addressed the legality of the regulations, not whether the sick leave changes were appropriate as a matter of policy.