Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)

I certainly hope the talks will not drag on too long but it is inevitable that these issues would be central to the current round of negotiations. Even if the events in Gama Construction and elsewhere had not arisen, the reality is that these reports were commissioned from the previous round of partnership talks with a view to being considered in the current round. That was inevitably going to be the case. Obviously, from the Government's viewpoint, and that of the Oireachtas, it is desirable to have some level of agreement among the social partners on how we proceed. I believe we will have a large measure of agreement. We certainly have had, heretofore, concerning the reports.

While there is resistance in some areas to some of the changes proposed in the employment rights bodies, ultimately we will come to the view that what operates best in dealing with our current requirements is what we must do. I am confident we will have an agreement arising from social partnership on how we should proceed and that we will be able to do so.

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