Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 48:

In page 43, between lines 11 and 12, to insert the following:"Certain decisions and recommendations of rights commissioners appealable to Labour Court under section 44
52.(1) Where a decision or recommendation in relation to a complaint or dispute to which subsection (2)of section 7applies was made by a rights commissioner before the commencement of Part 4and no appeal was brought from the decision or recommendation before such commencement, the decision or recommendation shall be appealable to the Labour Court under section 44as if the decision or recommendation were a decision of an adjudication officer under section 41.
(2) Where a decision or recommendation in relation to a complaint or dispute to which subsection (2)of section 7 applies was not made before the commencement of Part 4, any decision or recommendation made by a rights commissioner in relation to the complaint or dispute after such commencement shall be appealable to the Labour Court under section 44as if the decision were a decision of an adjudication officer under section 41.".

This provides for a new section 52, which provides that no party to a decision of a rights commissioner who wishes to appeal the decision after the commencement of Part 4, regardless of whether the original complaint was decided before or after the commencement of Part 4, and is within time to do so may only bring his or her appeal to the Labour Court, as if the first instance decision were the decision of an adjudication officer under section 41. This means certain appeals which would have been lodged with the Employment Appeals Tribunal but for the commencement of Part 4 will have to be lodged with the Labour Court.