Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 166: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the position regarding a matter (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43402/10]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Access to the Rights Commissioner Service, the Labour Relations Commission and the Labour Court under the Industrial Relations Acts is governed by the definition of "worker" in Section 23 of the Industrial Relations Act 1990. Section 23(1)(e) excludes, inter alia, "an officer of a vocational education committee" from this definition of worker. Arising from an agreement between management and union sides to abolish the existing Conciliation and Arbitration machinery for vocational educational committee officers and to bring them within the scope of the Industrial Relations Acts, it is now proposed to amend the definition of "worker" to include such officers, with the exception of teachers, within the definition of "worker" in the 1990 Act. An amendment to this effect is included in the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Bill 2009, which is currently awaiting Committee Stage in the Dáil.

I understand that, pending the enactment of this legislation, the Department of Education & Skills and Vocational Education Committees have already agreed to facilitate access to the State's dispute resolution machinery by VEC officers on an ad-hoc basis.

It should be noted that VEC officers have access to the State's dispute settling bodies under the range of employment legislation, which does not contain the same exclusions as the definition of 'worker' under the Industrial Relations Act 1990.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Question 167: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation if an amendment to section 23 of the 1990 Industrial Relations Act, to provide for the inclusion of persons employed in the public service in the definition of worker for the purposes of this legislation, has been drafted; if it is intended to bring such an amendment forward during the lifetime of the current Dáil; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43411/10]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Access to the employment dispute settling bodies under the Industrial Relations Acts is governed by the definition of "worker" in Section 23 of the Industrial Relations Act 1990. Workers not included within this definition are normally covered by separate schemes of Conciliation and Arbitration.

Workers in some parts of the public service, e.g. Local Authorities, Health Service Executive, are already covered by the definition of "worker" and, accordingly, have access to the State's industrial relations machinery.

Section 23(1)(e) of the 1990 Act excludes, inter alia, "an officer of a vocational education committee" from this definition of "worker". Arising from an agreement between management and union sides to abolish the existing Conciliation and Arbitration machinery for vocational educational committee officers and to bring them within the scope of the Industrial Relations Acts, it is now proposed to amend the definition of "worker" to include such officers, with the exception of teachers, within the definition of "worker" in the 1990 Act. An amendment to this effect is included in the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Bill 2009, which is currently awaiting Committee Stage in the Dáil.

The question of an amendment to the Industrial Relations Acts to provide for the inclusion of persons employed in the civil service in the definition of "worker" is a matter that is under consideration in the context of ongoing discussions between civil service management and unions. This would involve issues around coverage by the existing Civil Service Conciliation and Arbitration Scheme and is a matter for the Minister for Finance, in the first instance.