Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 199: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the terms of reference of the Review Group on Employee Representation; its membership, the date on which it first met and the dates of all subsequent meetings; the activities of the group to date in 2009, the expected future activities of the group; the resources allocated to support the group; the date by which the group is expected to have completed its activities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38314/09]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The Towards 2016 Review and Transitional Agreement 2008 – 2009 (paras 9.1 – 9.3) provides for the establishment of a review process which would consider the legal and other steps necessary to enable the employee representation mechanisms that had been established under previous agreements – and in legislation – to operate as they had been intended. The agreement (para 9.4) also commits the Government to bringing forward legislative proposals to prohibit the victimisation of trade union members and to prohibit the incentivisation of persons not to be members of a trade union.

With a view to progressing work on both commitments, a Review Group on Employee Representation – chaired by the Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach and on which my Department; the Department of Finance; trade unions; and employers are represented – has been put in place to examine these issues.

Two informal meetings of the group have taken place to date – on 14 September and 13 October, 2009 – and position papers have been submitted by the employer and trade union representatives on the issues requiring the group's consideration. I understand that the group's work will now focus on the issues raised in these position papers and that further engagement between the parties is anticipated over the coming weeks. The group has not set a date for the completion of its activities.

The Social Partnership (IR & Workplace Change) Division of the Department of the Taoiseach is supporting the work of the group from within existing resources.