Mr. Jim Dorney:

I wanted to comment on Senator Quinn's intervention. Each of us sitting here has views about labour law and areas that could be better or worse in that regard. We would be here until midnight if we were to go into them but that is not the reason we are here. We are here to ensure that the mechanisms through which the law is implemented are reasonable and fair to both the employee and the employer.

Deputy Calleary said the Minister, Deputy Bruton, did a good job, and he has done a good job. He has brought in some welcome reforms but he is wrong in two significant areas, one of which is the private hearing. That is a step backwards, but the Deputy may not understand that we are only saying that in respect of unfair dismissal. It is different. It is the most important issue to any worker. Straightforward issues such as payment of wages could be dealt with by a single person but we are saying that unfair dismissal should not be dealt with by a single person because a single person does not have the expertise or the breadth of knowledge of the law and of industry.