Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 53: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if her attention has been drawn to the growing number of industrial disputes in which employers have ignored or failed to abide by adjudications of the labour relations agencies; if this problem has been raised with the employer organisations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41057/09]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The system of industrial relations in Ireland is essentially voluntarist in nature with the terms and conditions of employment of workers being determined in the main by a process of voluntary bargaining without the direct intervention of the State.

The law on trade disputes does not generally seek to impose a solution on the parties to a dispute but rather seeks to assist them in arriving at a solution. The State facilitates the bargaining process by providing a framework and institutions through which good industrial relations can prosper. Institutions that have been established to assist in the resolution of disputes between employers and workers include the Labour Relations Commission and the Labour Court. The Labour Relations Commission and the Labour Court are independent statutory bodies that act independently in carrying out their functions.

Conciliation is a voluntary process in which a professional facilitator assists employers and employees to resolve disputes when their own unassisted efforts have not succeeded. The Labour Relations Commission's Conciliation Services Division is a core element of the Commission's contribution to promoting the improvement of industrial relations. Its record in a voluntary dispute environment is impressive, successfully resolving an average of 80% of cases. The Commission also offers a Rights Commissioner Service to deal with disputes involving individuals or small groups.

If the issues in a trade dispute cannot be resolved at conciliation, or a party appeals the recommendation of a rights commissioner, the Labour Court maybe called upon to issue its recommendations for resolving the matter. The Labour Court is a court of last resort in the industrial relations process, and it is expected that the parties come to the process in good faith and consequently are prepared to give serious consideration to the Court's recommendations.

Ultimately, however, responsibility for the resolution of trade disputes is a matter for the parties involved.