Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 April 2012
460 Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of cases currently being processed through the Labour Court, Employment Appeals Tribunal, Labour Relations Commission, Equality Tribunal, and National Employment Rights agencies. [18864/12]
View answerThe Equality Tribunal continues for the moment to be within the remit of the Department of Justice. Pending the planned transfer of this body to my Department as part of the Workplace Reform Programme questions concerning the Tribunal should be addressed to my colleague the Minister for Justice.
The Labour Relations Commission is a statutory body that is independent of me in the performance of its functions. Accordingly, I have forwarded your question to the Chief Executive of the LRC and asked that he respond directly to you on the matter insofar as it relates to that body.
In respect of the Labour Court, the Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) and the National Employment Rights Authority (NERA) the table below shows the number of cases received/opened and finalised for the latest month (March 2012). I have also included comparative figures on the table for March 2011.
|
Body |
Cases received/opened |
Cases closed |
|
NERA March 2012 |
295 |
297 |
|
NERA March 2011 |
230 |
270 |
|
Labour Court March 2012 |
88 |
39 |
|
Labour Court March 2011 |
124 |
68 |
|
EAT March 2012 |
406 |
2181 |
|
EAT March 2011 |
424 |
1536 |
461 Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of judgements enacted by employers arising from Labour Court, Employment Appeals Tribunal, Labour Relations Commission, Equality Tribunal, and National Employment Rights judgments over the past 12 months. [18865/12]
View answerThe Equality Tribunal continues for the moment to be within the remit of the Department of Justice. Pending the planned transfer of this body to my Department as part of the Workplace Reform Programme questions concerning the Tribunal should be addressed to my colleague the Minister for Justice and Equality.
The Labour Relations Commission is a statutory body that is independent of me in the performance of its functions. Accordingly, I have forwarded your question to the Chief Executive of the LRC and asked that he respond directly to you on the matter insofar as it relates to that body.
In the 12 months to 31st March 2012 the number of determinations issued by the Employment Appeals Tribunal was 4,043. In the same period the number of Employment Rights Determinations issued by the Labour Court was 246. The National Employment Rights Authority (NERA) does not issue judgements or determinations. It does have a role in the enforcement of determinations of the other employment rights bodies.
The mechanism for enforcing determinations of the Employment Appeals Tribunal and Decisions/determinations of the Labour Court/Rights Commissioners is prescribed in the relevant legislation under which the decision/determination is made. Generally, this involves an application to the Circuit Court for an order directing compliance, or instituting proceedings in the District Court as the case may be.
The legislation also prescribes who may apply to the courts to enforce the determinations. In most cases determinations are enforced by or on behalf of the complainant. However, in some instances the Minister may, if he considers it appropriate, apply on behalf of a party when requested to do so. The National Employment Rights Authority (NERA), initiate these proceedings on behalf of the Minister.
Unless a request to enforce a determination/order had been made to me as stated I would not be aware of any enforcement proceedings or voluntary compliance in respect of an order/determination. Therefore, I am not in a position to supply figures for the number of employers who complied with the determinations of the bodies concerned. The only detail in this regard that is available to me relates the number of cases in respect of which requests were made to the Minister during the past 12 months. Details of these are summarised in the table.
|
Year 2011 |
1 January 2012 to 31 March 2012 |
|
|
Number of New cases received |
35 |
18 |
|
Number of cases Closed |
76 |
17 |
|
Number of cases on hands |
88 |
90 |
|
Value of awards referred to NERA for Civil enforcement |
€854,462 |
€144,386 |
|
Awards paid to employees as a result of civil Enforcement by NERA |
€88,361 |
€47,370 |
