Derek McDowell (Labour)

I am not sure if Senator Quinn and I should state our differences once again. For the sake of balance on this one occasion, the amendment in my name which was negatived on Committee Stage and disallowed today seeks to do away with the threshold. It goes without saying that I would oppose any amendment which seeks to make the threshold higher.

The basic principle behind my amendment was simply that this is a facility which should be available. If, for firms of a certain size, it is a good thing to have information and consultation with employees, there should be an obligation on the employers and employees to put the process in place without requiring a threshold to trigger it.