Vol. 563 No. 4
145 Mr. S. Ryan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the additional finance or resources being provided to the Labour Relations Commission and the Labour Court to enable them to process claims in a timely manner, as promised in sustaining progress; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8139/03]
The draft text of the new national partnership agreement contains provisions that will result in additional demands on the Labour Relations Commission and the Labour Court. As well as the additional cases that may be referred to both the commission and the court, each of the bodies will be subject to tight time scales in relation to cases referred under the code of practice on voluntary dispute resolution and the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2001. In addition, the commission will need access to the services of a pool of assessors in cases where the employer pleads inability to pay the terms contained in the agreement.
The Department of Finance has agreed to the provision of additional resources of €1 million for the Labour Relations Commission and €100,000 for the Labour Court in 2003 to enable them to meet these additional demands.
Question No. 146 answered with Question No. 121.
