Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I do not know exactly what the individual circumstances are that the Deputy mentioned, but if she wants to send me the details I will certainly make further inquiries about them.

Deputy Gino Kenny raised the Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use. When it makes its recommendations, they will be considered in good faith by the Government. As with the review that Deputy Bríd Smith mentioned, there is no obligation on the Government or the Oireachtas to accept every recommendation that is made. That would not be right. What we will do is to take seriously any recommendations that are made, consider them properly and in good faith, and then issue a reasoned response. There should not be any assumption or obligation on any democratically elected parliament or government to accept every recommendation that a body makes. That would not be right and would not make sense, in my view.

I will ask the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, to come back to Deputy Paul Murphy directly on the Tallaght Drug & Alcohol Task Force.

Deputy Tóibín raised issues relating to our laws on trade unions. We are updating our laws on collective bargaining in line with European law. Our existing laws give people the right to join a trade union and protect them from victimisation, but they do not force employers to recognise trade unions. As one very senior former trade union official said to me, even if we could force employers to meet trade unions, we could not force them to come to an agreement. No government could impose an agreement on unions or on employers, unless it was done through the Labour Court system. That is a totally different system. That is a quasi-judicial system. It is not about negotiation. It is about hearing both sides of the argument and a recommendation being handed down. Government contracts reflect our laws, but we are in the process of updating our legislation around collective bargaining. Again, that basic principle needs to be widely understood. You could pass a law forcing employers to meet with unions, but could you ever pass a law that would force people to talk, negotiate or agree?

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