Mr. Tim Fenn:

The Irish Hotels Federation believes JLCs lost their relevance on the introduction of the national minimum wage. We do not believe it is appropriate for some sectors to be singled out for the imposition of pay rates and conditions in excess of the levels applied to other sectors. The system is outdated, complex and inflexible. We have more than 40 Acts to protect employees and, as I mentioned earlier, there are three key developments on the immediate horizon relating to auto-enrolment for pensions, sick pay and the living wage. None of these measures were in place when the JLCs were established. Of the eight JLCs currently in place, only two are operational and we understand there is a legal challenge to one of those. Overriding all of this is that there are harmonious industrial relations in our industry at present. Not only that, we also have engagement at enterprise level with unions as appropriate. We do not see the need to return to the JLCs, which are no longer relevant because of the national minimum wage structure.