Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I hear the Deputy, and she takes a view that is consistent with trade union leadership, which is fair enough. The conversations between the different social partners have actually been constructive. The Minister of State, Deputy Richmond and I have been involved in those discussions. The Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, is involved in that too. The approach the Government is taking is delivering on the commitments we have made to put an action plan in place. I think there will be a lot of discussion and engagement in the coming months in trying to get the balance right between what is appropriate for the Irish economy and what currently works and does not work from an Irish perspective in terms of industrial relations. That needs to be part of that discussion too. We happen to be part of an economy in which industrial unrest is not a major feature. There is a lot working well in industrial relations and relationships between employers and employees in Ireland today. Can we improve it? I think we can, and this action plan can be part of that. Let us see how that debate progresses between the social partners.

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