Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

To address the first point about what is happening at European level, the last European Council meeting I attended was just last month and I will be going again in two weeks' time for the EPSCO meeting. It is my understanding the Belgian Presidency has already convened a working party on this matter and a second working party meeting is scheduled at the end of this month to lead into the Council meeting in March. The ambition is to reach a general agreement by the end of this Presidency, which obviously leads us just past the European elections in June. It is best to ensure legal provisions that refer to transnational employer obligations maintain a level playing field and therefore it is only appropriate that developments at an EU level are ultimately reflected in the Transnational Information and Consultation of Employees Act 1996. To the Deputy's point, there may be scope for improvements, but it is important to do this on a European basis, especially when it involves European works councils, and to let that process conclude. As I said, the process is more than advanced at this stage.