Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I reiterate that Ireland's system of industrial relations is voluntary in nature and responsibility for the resolution of industrial relations issues lies ultimately with employers, workers and their respective representatives as appropriate. I could not be any clearer and I said twice in my opening contribution that I expect all sides to engage with the industrial relations process. That is what I have asked for.

I believe we are fortunate in Ireland in terms of the industrial relations systems we have developed and to which we are committed. In my previous address in the House a few weeks ago in this area, I acknowledged Deputy Nash and the great work he did on the 2015 Act. We have committed in the programme for Government to review changes of our collective bargaining and to strengthen that position. I recognise the Deputy was a former Minister of State who has strengthened the system in this area and I compliment him on that.

It has been the consistent policy of successive Governments to support the development of an institutional framework supportive of a voluntary system of industrial relations. There has been a consensus among the social partners that the terms and conditions of employment of workers are best determined through the process of voluntary bargaining between employers and workers and between employers' associations and trade unions or staff associations. This approach has served us well over the years and has resolved a large number of high-profile disputes.

In general, our laws do not try to impose a solution on parties to a trade dispute but rather are designed to support the parties in resolving their differences. The State has, by and large, confined its role to underpinning the voluntarism through the provision of a framework and institutions through which good industrial relations can and have prospered, on most occasions. As I said in my opening contribution, the vast majority of industrial relations recommendations are accepted voluntarily by the parties where employer and employee representatives come together and enter into voluntary agreements to resolve their differences. It is a win-win situation with buy-in from both sides. While I have no direct role in these matters, I stand by the professionalism of the industrial relations machinery of the State that are always available to facilitate solutions where both parties are prepared to work with those institutions.

There has been some engagement in this case, although I am not privy to the detail of that. I ask that this engagement should continue to try to get a resolution to this issue. I encourage all sides to make every effort to reach a resolution by agreement between companies and workers with the help of the industrial relations machinery of the State. I commend the work they do.

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