Ms Nichola Harkin:

What I would say is that when the Senator says there are members in IBEC who do not recognise a trade union, ultimately freedom of association and disassociation is a constitutional right in Ireland. There is the freedom to recognise or not recognise a trade union in Ireland. That is a constitutional right that we have protected here. The other thing I would say is if there are individuals who have been dismissed as a result of trade union recognition, there are really strong supports for them in the Unfair Dismissals Act. It is automatically unfair to dismiss someone for trade union activity.