Vol. 464 No. 2
115 Mr. Lawlor asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment if he will make a statement in respect of the effective stoppage in the carrying out of company searches at the Companies Office in view of a minor fault in equipment which remains unattended due to a disagreement regarding responsibility among his officials; and when this problem will be addressed and resolved in order that normal service can be restored. [7892/96]
The matter raised by the Deputy arises from industrial action taken by the Civil and Public Services Union on a Civil Service wide basis. A high proportion of the staff in the Companies Registration Office are members of the Civil and Public Service Union. The industrial action is, accordingly, having an adverse effect on the work of the office, resulting in a diminution of the service provided to customers. A notice to advise customers of the office of the difficulties was placed in the national newspapers at an early stage after the Civil Service wide industrial action was commenced in March.
I understand that, following discussions between the CPSU and the Minister for Finance, it has been agreed to commence restructuring negotiations under the Programme for Competitiveness and Work pay agreement, with the assistance of a facilitator from the Labour Relations Commission. In the meantime, while the dispute continues, local management in the Companies Registration Office and senior management in the Department continue to address local issues arising from the CPSU action. I am happy to record that the particular problem mentioned by the Deputy has been resolved with the availability of company searches having recently been restored.
