Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to follow up on what my colleague, Deputy Lowry, has said about treating staff with the dignity and respect they deserve. Quite frankly, staff do not feel they are being treated in such a manner currently. I repeat the question about the number of ongoing cases of bullying and harassment within Bord na Móna. I am told the number is very high. I suggested there were 300 cases but I was told that was not right, but at the same time the number of cases was not quantified.

I also asked about the money spent on consultants. Could the witnesses confirm that €14 million was spent on consultants last year?

Can Mr. Horgan quantify how much has been spent on consultants in the past three years since he assumed his role within the organisation? When I asked a question about preventing board members from engaging with employees, Mr. Horgan said that was no longer the case and that the chief executive officer had had a meeting with employees yesterday. Is Mr. Horgan satisfied that his board members, particularly worker director board members - Mr. Horgan stated there was no difference between any members - are engaging with the employees? My colleague Deputy Cowen alluded to the high percentage of disputes ending up in arbitration in the Labour Court, but Mr. Horgan said this was not the case. I have a letter from one of the unions which states that its shop stewards and local management had not resolved any local issue in the past 14 months and very little has been resolved with the involvement of HR and union officials. I ask Mr. Horgan to quantify what percentage of disputes have ended up in the Labour Court.