Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)

It may not deal with an issue it raises. If it does, I will accept it on Report Stage.

Amendment No. 62 is a technical amendment to introduce consistency throughout the Bill. There is no provision for appeals to the Labour Court in the Bill — it provides only for disputes to be referred.

On amendment No. 55, I am proposing a role for the Labour Relations Commission. The purpose of the amendment is to provide for a stage in the dispute resolution process in advance of referral to the Labour Court to allow parties as much support as possible in reaching a voluntary agreement. Disputes under section 15(1) would be referred to the Labour Court only after recourse to the internal dispute procedure usually used by the parties concerned has failed to resolve the dispute, and following a referral to the Labour Relations Commission. This is in line with current processes, as the Senators will be aware.