Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)

I thank Senator Morrissey for raising this issue which has caused great public concern in recent weeks. The House is well aware of the speculation surrounding the affairs at Irish Ferries and in particular the intolerable consequences for the staff who, against a background of threats to their livelihood, are being asked to take very important decisions regarding their future.

Issues such as those which have arisen between Irish Ferries and their staff need to be addressed in the first instance within the organisation, which is the legal requirement with regard to most other sectors of employment under the Protection of Employment Act 1977. The parties involved have the assistance of the State's industrial relations machinery in addressing such issues.

My Department sought and received legal advice at the end of June 2004 regarding the applicability of Irish terms and conditions of employment aboard ships, both in respect of Irish-registered vessels and foreign-registered vessels. In the case of Irish-registered vessels, the legal advice was that, so far as the terms and conditions of employees on an Irish registered vessel are concerned, if the owner of the vessel is an Irish individual or body corporate, the employees on the vessel are subject to the provisions of Irish law whether in Irish territorial waters or on the high seas. The same would be true when an Irish-registered vessel is in the internal waters of another state. Accordingly, workers from outside the EU working on Irish-registered vessels are also covered by Irish employment rights legislation by virtue of section 20 of the Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act 2001 which provides that the full range of Irish employee legislation applies to foreign workers posted to work in or otherwise working in this country.

The legal advice received on foreign registered ships indicates that as a general rule the flag state, the state where the ship is registered, has the exclusive right to exercise legislative and enforcement jurisdiction over its ships on the high seas. The legal advice received suggests that if terms and conditions of employment issues arise on foreign-registered ships, they are a matter for the flag state in accordance with international maritime law and practice. These arrangements apply internationally and Ireland is not an exception in this area.

While recognising the exceptional situation that has arisen in the maritime sector, the full panoply of Irish employment law still applies to persons employed in Ireland, regardless of nationality. This body of law is and will continue to be enforced.

Governments cannot, of course, prevent job losses as such, they are happening every day as enterprises and sectors prosper and decline. However, this is very different from a situation where workers in viable enterprises are deliberately replaced by cheaper labour from other countries. As the Taoiseach told the Dáil earlier today, free access to the Irish labour market by nationals of the new EU member states was not intended to give employers a green light to replace Irish workers with cheaper labour.

The primary objective of employment rights legislation is to protect employees against arbitrary or capricious behaviour by employers, to protect the safety and health of workers and to foster labour market harmony by promoting policies that minimise conflict and maximise fairness. The consensus on economic and social policy issues that we have had in Ireland through successive national partnership programmes could not have been achieved without the existence of basic social standards. This consensus approach involving employers, employees and Government has been a major contributor to Ireland's recent economic success and has been backed up by a well-balanced suite of employment rights legislation which, together with measures designed to stimulate employment, provides an appropriate framework for achieving an efficient and competitive business environment.

Employment rights legislation has an important role to play in promoting labour market stability. The economic benefits of employment security and agreed employment relationships in terms of co-operative work place relations, greater internal flexibility, acceptance of technological change, cumulative skills acquisition and greater incentives for investment in human resources are widely recognised and accepted. As Senator Morrissey is no doubt aware, the system of industrial relations in Ireland is essentially voluntary in nature, with terms and conditions of employment of workers being determined in the main by a process of voluntary bargaining without the direct intervention of the State.

However, the State facilitates the bargaining process by providing a framework and institutions through which good industrial relations can prosper. Institutions have been established that can assist in the resolution of disputes between employers and workers such as the Labour Relations Commission, including its Rights Commissioner service, the Labour Court and the Employment Appeals Tribunal.

In this context, Irish Ferries and the unions attended the Labour Court on Monday last, 3 October. Arising from the meeting, the company agreed to enter talks on its proposed redundancy package, aimed at finding agreement by the end of October at the latest. In the light of developments in the last few days, we are now in a situation where normal industrial relations procedures are being followed in the situation at Irish Ferries, which I welcome. The Government will continue to monitor the evolving situation and to consider what further action may be desirable and feasible. I am confident that we will have the full support of the House in this approach.