Brendan Ryan (Labour)

If the casting vote of the chairperson is removed I believe this could very well result in the deadlock to which the Minister of State refers. I would not have concerns about the chairperson siding one way or another. Before I entered full-time politics I had dealings on the opposite side to the unions and also had many dealings with the Labour Relations Commission and the Rights Commissioner. In many cases where I might have expected that a person such as the Rights Commissioner, for example, or somebody from the employers' side, would go a particular way, that proved not to be the case. I have no question about the independence of that group of people. I do not see the merit of this amendment and believe it could result in difficulties.