Mr. Peter O'Leary:

The Constitution guarantees a right to a public hearing. There is a difference between industrial relations and employment rights. A right is something which someone must establish before a tribunal. Such a tribunal could be a court of law or an entity established under the Constitution. The Employment Appeals Tribunal is just such an entity. People have a right to a public hearing under Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and Article 34 of the Constitution. That is why I am of the view that hearings should take place in public. We are dealing here with people's rights as distinct from industrial relations matters. The Industrial Relations Act prohibits strikes in respect of the dismissal of a single individual. As a result, those involved in industrial relations disputes relating to such matters must exhaust the options available under the employment legislation before resorting to a strike.