Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

If the Deputy can recollect, we managed to involve the Labour Relations Commission contrary to the initial wishes of some of the parties, particularly the employers. The commission played a significant role in trying to resolve the issues at the time. A variety of sources pressured the commission and some pressed for a resolution.

The scale of the redundancy payment created its own momentum towards resolving the issue. Deputy Quinn used other language to describe the situation, but the reality is that the payment was probably higher than the scale of normal redundancies. This led to pressure on representative bodies to accept the deal. We managed to keep events inside the labour relations process and to have both parties engage with the labour relations machinery of the State, which we were anxious to achieve. It was the best we could do in the context of the law that applies, outside of which the Government cannot go.

See this speech in context