Mr. P. J. Fitzpatrick:

We have four management and four trade union representatives on the body. Therefore, it is a very useful forum. We have similar arrangements in place for each of the big sectors, which total eight. We recognised at the beginning that if we were to become a dispute-resolution body, we would just get bogged down in industrial relations issues, and the focus would not be on the change agenda at all. We met the Labour Court and Labour Relations Commission and everyone was very clear that the dispute resolution procedures that would be used would be their well-tried, well-trusted ones. They work very well. I compliment both the Labour Court and the LRC on the manner and the speed with which they have handled the Croke Park referrals to them.

We have an interpretation role. If issues arise over the interpretation of issues in the agreement, they can be submitted to us. There have not been very many of them. Our main role is to try to ensure that whatever obstacles arise are unblocked We meet sector management regularly to try to make progress. We are not working on this full-time. We are non-executives and all those concerned have full-time jobs. However, we meet regularly and meet sector management. We do, therefore, have a role in driving and reviewing the action plans, challenging the action plans we get, sending them back, as we have often done, and ensuring we face up to new expenditure challenges. The budget, for example, always brings new challenges that are not provided for in the Croke Park agreement. The detailed steps that were to be taken are set out in a series of appendices at the back of the agreement. Virtually all of them have been taken. The agreement has moved on, therefore.

The big ticket item was reducing the number of staff and facilitating the Government to do so. It also involved ensuring the redeployment arrangements worked to support that process. This is still a significant feature. Many of the points in the individual sector plans have been addressed. The agreement has moved on and every budget brings a set of new challenges. Take the area of defence, for example. The Army barracks closures were handled under the Croke Park agreement. At the moment, the Department of Defence, with the staff associations, is managing the collapsing of the three brigades into two. This is not easy because it involves much movement and retraining of people. Our role, which is challenging, is to drive progress and report to the Government on that.