Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

It is important to state that it is clear a situation has arisen that is damaging to the specific industry in which the industrial dispute has arisen and which potentially has wider damaging effects for the economy. I note that a Private Notice Question has been scheduled for 5 p.m. this afternoon regarding the details of the dispute and it is important that rather than emphasising the merits of their respective cases, the House should call on both sides to use the industrial relations machinery and considerable expertise that is available in the State. Every industrial relations dispute is a matter of deep regret and it is important to be prepared to ensure both sides use the available machinery and to try to resolve this dispute quickly.

On the question of registered employment agreements, pay in the electrical contracting sector is set out in a registered employment agreement that sets legally binding minimum rates for the industry, which covers electrical contractors. Up to last year, the increase was calculated through an analogue pay comparison exercise, based on the pay of electricians outside the contracting industry. While certain legal challenges have been brought to the agreement, the issue is that of an industrial relations dispute, based on an existing registered employment agreement, which must be resolved through the use of the industrial relations machinery. I believe that process should be used to the full.

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