Chris Andrews (Dublin South East, Fianna Fail)

I am concerned by the length of the dispute between Marine Terminals Limited, MTL, and the men and women working for the company in Dublin Port. This dispute has resulted in pickets being placed on port installations by the workers who are opposed to the unilateral imposition of mass redundancies and cuts in pay and conditions by management. This dispute is in its 13th week and MTL has exacerbated the situation by seeking several injunctions in the High Court against the people working there, trade union leaders and members of the local community.

The company's refusal to engage in full industrial relations procedures has severely aggravated the situation and is damaging the image of the port. I welcome the presence of the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Calleary, who as a former member of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment is showing a great interest in his brief. I call on him to ensure that all the dispute resolution machinery available, the industrial relations infrastructure, is deployed to resolve this dispute and ensure that MTL engages in a meaningful way, which it has not so far done in this dispute. It must comply fully with the employment law of this State.

MTL has shown a complete disregard for the workers and for employment law. The men and women involved are not firebrands or radicals. They are ordinary people whom I know, living in Ringsend. They just want to get on with their daily lives, doing an honest day's work. John Whittaker, who owns Peel Ports, is worth £1.3 billion yet he shows contempt for Irish legislation and work practices, and the local community around the port. He wants to ride roughshod over these people and make more money to add to his estimated £1.3 billion. It is sickening. It is probably that sort of arrogance that has led us into the difficulty we face now. People like him have ruined the banking system and the property market.

On 27 August two men, Eddie Byrne from Ringsend, and Gerry Brannock, were on boats on the Liffey when small boat-owners staged a protest in support of the MTL workers. Both were named in proceedings by the Dublin Port Company when it sought an injunction against the protestors in the High Court. These two men have committed their lives to working for the community and are still involved in local community events. They are old age pensioners. Mr. Eddie Byrne is diabetic, suffers from various blood pressure issues and has an underlying heart condition. He has to take up to 14 different types of medication every day. Mr. Gerry Breathnach also suffers from blood circulation problems, has high blood pressure and had a stroke several years ago.

Compassion must be shown in the attempt to pursue these men for costs because they are pensioners and are not able to deal with it. Commonsense must prevail and the action of chasing these men for costs must be dropped. The workers understand there may have to be redundancies but there has been no attempt to discuss such redundancies and this is not the way business should be done.

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