Garda strike ballot - No garda can act above law

IT IS absurd to suggest in a democracy that any people should not have a right to express their opinions by voting.

Members of An Garda Síochána have a democratic right to vote, and to try to deny that right is likely to confuse the issues at stake in the current controversy. Even if they should vote unanimously in favour of a strike, they would still not have the right to strike until the Irish people, through their elected representatives, change the law.

Gardaí are already unpopular with criminal elements of society, so they are heavily dependent on law-abiding people for necessary support. Allowing police to act above the law inevitably undermines democracy, because it establishes the foundation for a police state.