Mr. Fergus Whelan:

The Department explained its decision. We told it about the knock-on problems. We asked it at one stage to postpone it. It was coming up to 2014 and this was moving quickly. We asked it to push it back to give us some time to set up a forum where we could examine the labour market issues. The Department said it would set up a forum but did not do so. As the clock was ticking, the Department brought in ICTU, IBEC, the Employment Law Association of Ireland and the old-age pensioner organisations into a room in Croke Park, listened to everything we had to say and that ticked the box that it had consulted with us. However, we never managed to influence the Department in any way. These are probably very good negotiators and it was hard to believe that any arguments about justice, equity or fair play made the slightest impression on it The message was that this was happening and if there were labour law issues it was nothing to do with the Department.