Mr. Tom Hayes:

The size of European work councils can vary. There are 27 European member states, with Norway making a 28th state. We rarely see anybody from either Liechtenstein or Iceland. There could be up to 28 countries represented, with 25 delegates attending on average. The management side could involve a team of four or five. In round numbers, there might be 30 participants in European work councils. On top of that, we have interpretation. Many languages are spoken and European work council members are entitled to have the proceedings translated instantaneously into their own languages. For every language, two interpreters are needed. Another 15 or 16 people could be involved in interpretation. European work council meetings bring people in from all over Europe, so they have to be held either in an office building with an adjoining hotel or in a hotel. People fly in to spend two or three nights in a hotel, so that involves hotel stays, dinners, lunches, and a social event is often built in too. For example, if people come to Dublin, the Guinness Storehouse is popular, for some reason. When everything is considered, a European work council meeting might involve 30 people, with 20 interpreters, and a couple of technical support people, so there could easily be 60 people. Looking at the spending, a meeting could cost €100,000 or so. If there are 100 or 150 European work councils based in Ireland and each had one meeting here, that would represent a useful addition to the economy.