Mr. John MacGabhann:

On the other issue of the intersection between negotiation in the IR forum and legislation, may I give one concrete example? We represented a gentleman to the point where we secured a contract of indefinite duration for him, having had to go to the Labour Court to get his rights vindicated under section 9(3) of the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003. When he was given his contract of indefinite duration by the employer, it was a contract for zero hours and zero pay. One gets permanency on nothing, so 100% of nothing is nothing. It was an absolutely cynical, but unfortunately not untypical, manipulation of existing legislation based on a misreading. When considering education and training boards, and the provision of education, it is inescapable that consideration must also be given to the people who are concerned with its delivery.