Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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18. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the progress of implementing the new workplace relations service; when the legislation underpinning the proposed new structures will be published and introduced into Dáil Éireann; and if the new services will be sufficiently accessible without undue financial costs which would act as an impediment to persons seeking to avail of the services. [23809/14]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The Government is committed to reform of the State’s existing Workplace Relations Services. The system that developed over the last eighty years had become unwieldy and complex and was no longer fit for purpose. Indeed, there was universal acceptance of the need for a root-and-branch reform of the existing structures.

My objective is to deliver a world-class workplace relations service which is simple to use, independent, effective, impartial, cost effective and provides for workable means of redress and enforcement, within a reasonable period of time.

Significant progress has been achieved to date, in advance of the enabling legislation, insofar as the technological, structural, administrative and staffing changes required to underpin the Workplace Relations Reform Programme are concerned, including the following measures which have already been put in place:

- Transfer of the Equality Tribunal into my Department to be part of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC),

- Establishment of a Single Contact Portal (Workplace Relations Customer Service),

- Launch of a single Workplace Relations Complaint Form and e-complaint facility,

- Finalisation of a Staffing and Structures Plan,

- Design and launch of a single Workplace Relations website,

- Design and launch of a Single Adjudication and Appeals Decisions Database,

- Establishment of an Early Resolution Service,

- Finalisation of Adjudicator training and recruitment plans, and

- Implementation of enhanced technologies and business processes, including the completion of the procurement phase in relation to the design and commissioning of a Customer Relationship Management Solution.

A significant amount of work has been completed on the preparation of the legislation which will give statutory effect to the new structures and associated processes. The Draft Scheme of the Workplace Relations Bill has been approved by Government for priority drafting. The drafting of the legislation is at an advanced stage with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel and I anticipate it will be completed to allow me publish the Bill during the current Spring/Summer Dail session with a view to having the new structures in place during 2014.

The legislation will provide for the services of the Equality Tribunal, the National Employment Rights Authority, the Labour Relations Commission and the first instance functions of the Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) to come together under the remit of the WRC. The appellate functions of the EAT will be amalgamated into a reconfigured Labour Court.

A key priority in this Reform Programme is to improve access to the State’s Workplace Relations Services and the reforms that I am introducing will provide for an improved service in terms of cost efficiency and user-friendliness for the users of the services.

In this regard, I do not propose to introduce charges on parties for access to the WRC services for many reasons, chief amongst which is the belief that ‘forum shopping’ will not be a feature in the new system. However, I am proposing the introduction of a fee in one particular instance: i.e. where a party who failed to appear at a first instance hearing of the WRC without good cause wishes to appeal the decision to the Labour Court, that party will have to pay a fee of €300 when lodging their appeal. If the Labour Court determines that the party in question had good cause for failing to attend the first instance hearing, the fee will be refunded. To facilitate this, a statutory basis will be provided in the legislation for the introduction of fees. This will also provide for any future situation where it is deemed appropriate and necessary to introduce fees.