Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is a difficult industrial dispute and I do not think it helps that Deputy Daly intervenes in a partial manner on one side of the dispute and then uses the opportunity of the dispute to launch a proxy attack on Ryanair which is not a party to this dispute. The action taken by the workers on this occasion was disproportionate. I defend the rights of workers to take industrial action but I think it was disproportionate at the bank holiday weekend to discommode 30,000 ordinary people who had plans to have a break at the weekend by flying out of the country. The action was disproportionate. I said that to the Deputy last week and I repeat it this week. I also said that the way forward is to use the industrial relations machinery of the State, if it can be helpful to bring the two sides together. This dispute should be resolved, as industrial disputes are resolved, by talking and by compromise and by coming to a solution. I do not think it achieves anything to have a tirade against one side when there are two sides to every industrial dispute. At the end of the day, management and the representatives of the workers will have to sit down and resolve this dispute and they should do so sooner rather than later without discommoding the Irish public further.

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