Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

Any company or individual in an EU member state has a right of establishment in any other EU member state. This is a well established provision since the signing of the Treaty of Rome. It is not that I agree or disagree with the idea that this is the mechanism by which Irish employment law would not continue to apply here. We want to see a resolution to the dispute within Irish industrial relations procedures, consistent with our industrial relations tradition on the basis of respect for the norms that apply in Ireland. We want to see both parties in resolution of this dispute as soon as possible, given the implications it could have.

It is not correct to misrepresent the Government's position as being anything other than that. The Government has done all it possibly can, under the industrial relations machinery available to it, to have the parties concerned before the Labour Court, the Labour Relations Commission and other institutions available to us to resolve the dispute. We have a voluntary method of industrial relations. We want to see talks resume. Today, contacts were made with both sides by the Labour Relations Commission. It has proved difficult to even get the parties into the same room to see if a resolution can be made.

We have made it clear what we believe are the best industrial relations practices that apply to this case thus far. We do not seek to condone or excuse the behaviour of the company in this matter one iota. However, it is not possible to bring forward an interpretation of EU law to suggest that an individual or a corporation does not have a right of establishment in another member state. That is a right available since the 1957 Treaty of Rome, as subsequently amended. Whether this is the case, we do not regard this as an excuse or justification for the current situation. We are guided by the Labour Court's recommendations. While they are not mandatory, they set out a means by which this matter should be resolved. It still can be resolved if sufficient will can be mustered between the parties on that basis, consistent with the highest standards applying in Irish industrial relations law.

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