Vol. 465 No. 1
184 Miss Coughlan asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment whether share fishermen are deemed as partners; and whether they are entitled to attend the Rights Commission and Labour Court in respect of industrial disputes. [9139/96]
The Partnership Act, 1890, and the Limited Partnerships Act, 1907, set out the legislative provisions regarding the law of partnership in Ireland. Section 1 (1) of the Partnership Act, 1890, provides that "a partnership is the relation which subsists between persons carrying on a business in common with a view to profit". Section 2 (2) of that Act declares that the sharing of gross returns does not of itself create a partnership but section 2 (3) provides that "the receipt by a person of a share of the profits of a business is prima facie evidence that he is a partner in the business".
In determining whether or not workers such as share-fishermen would have right of access to a rights commissioner or the Labour Court in terms of a dispute with the owner of a boat, the key issue hinges on the nature of the employment contract of the share-fishermen. If the contract is a "contract of service", then the fishermen would be an employee of the boat owner. On the other hand, if the contract is a "contract for service", the fisherman would not be an employee and thus would not have access to a rights commissioner or the Labour Court.
