Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 411: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if Irish personnel, resident and domiciled here and working as employees of an embassy are to be treated as workers under domestic State legislation, entitled to the same rights and protections of Irish labour law as other Irish employees working for Irish or international firms; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3347/08]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 412: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his attention has been drawn to the fact that persons, employed by some foreign embassies located here are not being treated for wage and tax purposes similar to PAYE workers employed by foreign companies based here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3348/08]

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 411 and 412 together.

The matter of Irish law applying to locally recruited personnel working for a foreign embassy accredited to and located in Ireland is a matter that has been the subject of Supreme Court decision such as in the case of the Government of Canada v the Employment Appeals Tribunal and Brian Burke (1992) 2 I.R. 484 S.C. to which I would refer the Deputy. The Deputy will note that in its judgement the Court had regard to principles of international law, to the nature of the duties and the position of confidence that attaches to locally recruited personnel that determines the nature of the employment relationship between locally recruited personnel and the ambassador, and to the question of sovereign immunity attaching to such activity.

Practice suggests that in the case of Irish persons working for an embassy in a position of confidence, who would be privy to business of the embassy, the embassy normally applies the law of its home country — the country which the embassy concerned represents. In other cases, the embassy concerned may apply Irish labour law in respect of their employment contracts with Irish personnel.

In the event of a dispute between a foreign embassy here and one or more of its Irish staff, where such personnel do not hold a position of confidence, the aggrieved staff may seek redress through the medium of representation to the ambassador concerned, to the authorities in the home country or through media publicity here or abroad, either through their own efforts or that of a trade union. In Ireland, the parties may utilise the expert services of the State's dispute settling machinery such as the Labour Relations Commission to assist them. There is also the option of going to a Rights Commissioner in regard to alleged breaches of Irish employment rights law although there may be a problem in enforcing any findings from such a process.