“The time for talking shops is over”, according to the head of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI).

Antoinette Cunningham is warning there could be no way around Garda strikes unless pay restoration is put on the table.

Ms Cunningham’s group is considering its own campaign of industrial action, after their colleagues in the GRA voted in favour of withdrawing service for four days next month.

The AGSI is due to sit down with Minister Frances Fitzgerald today, in a meeting that was planned before recent developments.

Ms Cunningham says her members have waited long enough.

She said: “I think it’s very important for people to understand this is a four-year protest. These pay claims have been going on for the past four years.

“Access to the Labour Relations Commission and other industrial rights that other people have are not open to the gardaí.

“We’ve been fighting for those issues for some years and we have not been able to make one iota of progress and I think the time for talking shops is over.”