Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)

Section 5 sets out the method of calculating workforce thresholds for the purpose of determining whether the legislation applies to a particular undertaking. The section imposes an obligation on the employer to provide details of the workforce numbers to one or more employees, to the Labour Court or its nominee following receipt of a request. The amendment would seek to delete the obligation on an employer to provide the workforce numbers to the Labour Court or a nominee of the court. This obligation would afford anonymity to employees who do not wish to make a request directly to the employer. Amendment No. 25 seeks to amend the process for establishing information and consultation arrangements, which is the trigger mechanism to which I referred previously. The right to make the request for employee numbers directly to the court is a necessary and important provision in the Bill in the context of the trigger mechanism.