Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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I thank our guests for attending. It is much better when we are in the room. That is my personal preference.

Mr. Mulligan said in his statement that the Minister indicated that he and his Department have a listening ear. Where was that when this was being drafted? Ms Patricia King from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ICTU, appeared before the committee, as Mr. Mulligan mentioned in the submission, and she indicated that this legislation did not go through what would be a normal and established consultation process with the trade unions. It is quite obvious that it did not, given where the legislation is and the fact that Mr. Mulligan is saying that he is willing to engage with substantial amendments to it. This is not meant disrespectfully to the volume of work that went into it but it is an indication that the Minister and the Department got it badly wrong. One of the reasons is that the normal consultation process was bypassed. Can Mr. Mulligan explain where this came from if it did not come from a consultation with the trade unions and, indeed, with IBEC and others? That does not appear to have happened.