Joe O'Toole (Independent)

To recap so we understand the situation, the jury is still out on whether this will be dealt with as redundancy. The Government is awaiting legal advice and it is still in the lap of the gods. A decision has not been made on whether it will be decided within the Department or referred to the Employment Appeals Tribunal. This will be watched closely from Government Buildings on Merrion Street during the talks on social partnership. Will this issue raise its head there?

I do not doubt that the issue reverberates in the debate on labour law. Will it now be raised in Government Buildings and will this be delayed in some way to accommodate discussions? This is a critical issue with reverberations in all types of directions and I would understand if the Department was delaying a decision on it. Perhaps the Minister of State is not at liberty to explain that to us. He handled this issue with such adeptness to date on such programmes as Morning Ireland that we can only stand back in wonder at his capacity to deal with it. Will he give us a few hints on how he sees it? People listening to this discussion will want it put in context and will want to know whether that context involves the legal aspect, the Employment Appeals Tribunal, the Government or all three within the parameters of the social partnership discussions. Where will it play out eventually?