IMPACT was among the many organisations that strongly supported the Public Service Pay Commission (PSPC) chair Kevin Duffy when he came under fire from garda associations for his comments about the legality of their recently-threatened strike.

IMPACT’s head of communications Bernard Harbor said Mr Duffy was a man of integrity and independence, who had the full confidence of public and private sector unions because of his impartiality and unrivalled expertise in industrial relations. Bernard said public service unions would object if there were any suggestion of replacing Mr Duffy in his role as PSPC chair.

A former bricklayer and ICTU official, Mr Duffy was chair of the Labour Court for many years and adjudicated on a large number of cases involving IMPACT members. Support for him came from a wide range of political figures and industrial relations organisations.

Hear Bernard Harbor on RTÉ’s News at One.