Professor Nael Bunni:

The Deputy is quite right. Unfortunately, some of the questions he has asked are beyond my control. The only way I could answer that would be to say we are now on the first step towards doing all these things very quickly. It has taken some time, I agree, but it had to be done right. This is the first step. Many more steps need to be taken and I hope they can be taken in no longer than three to four months. Certainly, the wheels are in motion. One of them is exactly what the Deputy has said, namely, the panel itself. Before the panel can be selected or appointed, there would have to be a process of seeking the right people for the job. As Deputy Tóibín noticed from my reply to Senator Quinn, specific qualifications are required for adjudicators.

For example, an arbitrator practising in a domestic scene would not automatically be good enough to act as an adjudicator, nor, indeed, would a conciliator, because the decision of an adjudicator has to have reasons, and those reasons, while they are similar to those made by an arbitrator, are not similar to those of a conciliator.

Certain elements in respect of qualifications have to be decided on and a code of conduct under section 9 of the act is required. This has not, as far as I know, been completed, although many drafts seem to have been done, and I have seen at least one produced by Engineers Ireland some time ago. There are a number of steps to be taken. For example, the publication of various forms is necessary, as these have to be ready so that applications can be sought from people who think they are good enough to apply. This has to be done very shortly but, unfortunately, I am not privy to the timeframe. Somebody else will have to answer that question.