Mary White (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. This legislation has good points and it is standard practice in good companies, which already have two-way contact procedures in place. Often one staff member represents the workforce and communicates with management on a regular basis. Senator O'Toole spoke as if there is a huge gap between management and workers but that is an outdated idea. No company can succeed unless management and staff work together.

I was nominated to the Seanad by the Irish Exporters Association and my company is a member of IBEC. The threat of imprisonment should be clarified because communication is such a vague area. The employer, after all, is the person who takes the risk. The legislation provides for penalties up to €3,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or both, on summary conviction for offences under the Bill, and on conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding €30,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or both. That must be cleared up.

IBEC feels this Bill is overly prescriptive. Speaking on behalf of IBEC, I want to say that the Government must ensure that legislation does not undermine a company's ability to adjust to new market conditions or the right of management to make the difficult decisions associated with such change. Any measures that make Irish business less able to adapt to changing global markets will undermine competitiveness and put jobs at risk. It is critical that companies that already have successful information and consultation procedures should be supported and allowed to continue without changing.

An overly prescriptive approach would undermine established local procedures which promote dialogue and trust. It is a matter of concern that the tone and language in the Bill suggests that it has been written largely for companies operating within a collective ethos and it is alien to the majority of employers operating in this economy who are non-union. The Minister of State's speech smacked of collective bargaining but only 25% of the private sector is unionised and this must be reflected in the legislation.

In 1980 my husband won a scholarship to study the future of the Irish industry. Fortunately, the award also paid for me to spend three and a half months with my husband attending meetings on future industrial development in Ireland. I wrote to my then colleagues at the National Building Agency, a semi-State body, that there was more socialism in American companies than we could even dream of in Ireland. The consultation process between management and staff highlighted this relationship. The Leader is reacting to what I said and, of course, there are companies--