Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

The Labour Court would be very cognisant of ongoing discussions within the social partnership process and on that basis, I expect that the Labour Court would not be making a recommendation to the Minister of State. I have heard both sides of the argument. I had the opportunity to meet Commissioner Spidla and he indicated that the labour relations issues we have - the minimum wage, the EROs and JLCs - are such that we will not have an imposition of further legislation from the European Union on the basis of our own domestic policy. That is unlike a number of other member states, where the European Union is giving direction on issues that must be addressed.

The issue of the national minimum wage is causing difficulty, particularly in some of the very vulnerable sectors, but at the same time we must give assurances to people who are vulnerable in these sectors that they have an entitlement. We must balance both of these factors. Until such a time as we have seen a finality in the social partnership process, I am in anticipation of a decision from the Labour Court.

It is important to reiterate the Taoiseach's comments in the House last week in that we have seen the unit labour costs in Ireland reduced by 7%, which will address our competitiveness.

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