Vol. 558 No. 6
53 Ms Shortall asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment her proposals for a fundamental review of employment rights bodies in regard to the commitment given in An Agreed Programme for Government; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24883/02]
Employment rights legislation has grown in volume, scope and complexity since the 1970s and that complexity extends also to the mechanisms for inspection, enforcement and the resolution of conflict. Without in any way eroding the protection of workers it is timely to look at the roles and the procedures of such bodies as the Rights Commissioner Service of the Labour Relations Commission and the Employment Appeals Tribunal; the mechanisms to deal with the resolution of conflict where for example workers feel that they are unable to exercise those rights; and the appellate mechanisms which come into play after the rights commissioners or the tribunal have made their recommendations. It is timely, in short, to look at a system of rights and responsibilities which has grown up very often in response to EU initiatives and been grafted on to existing institutions to ensure that the system is clear, coherent and user-friendly.
