Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy's proposed amendment is inappropriate as it would have the effect of giving the District Court jurisdiction to award uncapped financial compensation in certain cases of unfair dismissal. This would be inconsistent with the status of the District Court as court of local and limited jurisdiction under the Constitution. It would also be inconsistent with the scheme of the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 which provides that 104 weeks is the maximum under an unfair dismissal case. That is the maximum that an adjudication officer can award. What the Deputy is seeking to do is to allow the District Court without retrying the case to award more than that. That is where it would fall foul of the Constitution.

See this speech in context