Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I accept most of what the Minister of State has said, especially that relating to the Department's intentions. Unfortunately, however, sometimes policy has unintended consequences. Whether it is the intention of a Department or a particular policy to discriminate in a particular way or to discourage union membership or not, unfortunately the impact of some of these decisions is that people are faced with the decision of joining or removing themselves from a certain union so that they can go to the Workplace Relations Commission. It is up to unions to encourage membership but it is up to us not to create policies that discourage union membership. For that reason, I will press the amendment.