Derek McDowell (Labour)

The Minister of State's comparison is spurious. Let us take Irish Ferries, assuming it will be governed by the legislation, as an example, although this may not be the case given the flag of convenience under which its vessels sail. No employee of Irish Ferries will bring a bank manager or parish priest along to consultations but he or she may well want to be accompanied by a professional trade union representative. Union officials are no longer militants on the shop floor but professional, trained individuals who spend considerable time and effort learning negotiating skills and trying to assimilate information which previously only accountants could understand. In this regard, I endorse Senator O'Toole's comments because it is also my experience that trade union officials spend much more time having rows with their members than with their employees. These days one must try to be reasonable and take the centre ground much of the time. Incidentally, this is also true of Labour Party politicians.