asked the Minister for Labour his Department's role in relation to the Irish Productivity Centre; and the assistance which the centre give to his Department.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers - Irish Productivity Centre.
3.
My Department have a particular interest in the work of the Labour-Management Service of the Irish Productivity Service and as a consequence an official from my Department attends the council meetings of the Irish Productivity Centre as an observer. The Labour Management Service are involved in establishing servicing and generally supporting joint labour-management participative structures and in promoting employee participation generally.
Apart from that the IPC assist the Department and their agencies from time to time through research and advisory work.
Would the Minister give some recent examples of research work undertaken? Is the Irish Productivity Centre the main source of research for the Department?
That is a separate question. I can give some information now, but I would prefer to give more comprehensive information in writing. In reply to the second part of the Deputy's question, it is not the only source of potential research. The Department have commissioned research from the universities and from the College of Industrial Relations.