Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

I have no objection to these amendments being made. I still regret the Bill has missed the opportunity to forge a more mature relationship between the Oireachtas and the various institutions of the social partnership of which these are prominent parts. As I said earlier, the Dáil should have a role in shaping the agenda of social partnership. Currently that is a task primarily done by the National Economic and Social Council from which the Dáil is excluded. Token membership for Members of the Oireachtas on some of these fora which are dealing with subsets of the overall agenda of social partnership is not an adequate response.

Recognising that social partnership is a permanent feature of the way we do our business, we need to have a more mature relationship with the Oireachtas where people who are elected this House to represent the broad citizenship have a greater say instead of relying primarily on representatives from interest groups, who have a valid say, but not to the exclusion of Members of the Oireachtas who have a broad mandate. While this was a missed opportunity, the Minister of State knows the views of the different Members so I will not labour the point at this stage.

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