Mr. Denis Sheridan:

The biggest issue is redress. We need to tackle how disputes are resolved. We are all in agreement that industrial relations mechanisms should be the main focus of legislation. That would make Ireland more attractive because, first and foremost, involved parties would go into conciliation and mediation, rather than going straight into the courts, as in other parts of Europe, and being faced with a legal battle. They actually get assistance which is provided by the WRC. It is a cheap method, which is another point that people like. Deputy Paul Murphy referred to expenses and so on. The process would be assisted because expenses would be lower in the WRC, since workers could go in with an expert to express their fears and issues. Management would not need barristers to simply sit in a room to discuss issues. That is why this model is so attractive to other European countries and multinationals. They would only go to court after that. We need to look at redress.

While I am not insinuating that all companies are rogue, there have been incidents where no redress has been provided.

We had an incident where we tried to take an Irish multinational company through legal proceedings and nearly five years have elapsed with no resolution. Ireland is an attractive choice for companies that do not want to put in place workers' rights. Mr. Hayes has clearly stated that this is not the intention of the good companies that he deals with but aspects of this process must be examined. SIPTU has spent nearly five years trying to get an Irish multinational company through the statutory process in Ireland and the matter still has not been resolved. This issue needs to be addressed to make Ireland more attractive. People would be more willing to come to Ireland if the industrial relations mechanism was in place because it would be an easy and cost-efficient way to deal with disputes.