Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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Question 116: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if she will urge a bank (details supplied) to desist from trying to defeat the Irish Bank Officials Association and instead engage with them on the current dispute. [24109/08]

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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Industrial relations are the relations between employers and their workers. The resolution of industrial disputes is a matter for the parties to the dispute. In the case of the company referred to by the Deputy, I understand that the principal method of regulating industrial relations is collective bargaining i.e. the company engages in direct negotiation with the representatives of the employees.

For cases where the parties have failed to find a solution to the issues in dispute, the State provides the dispute settling machinery of the Labour Relations Commission and the Labour Court. Issues relating to cases that have been referred to the dispute settling machinery for resolution are operational matters for the State's dispute settling agencies and I have no function in these matters. Ultimately, responsibility for the resolution of trade disputes is a matter for the parties involved.