Bernard Allen
Ceist:32 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Labour if he will outline the reasons he has decided not to grant the General Practitioners Association a new negotiating licence.
Written Answers - General Practitioners Association.
The Association of General Practitioners (AGP) applied for "excepted body" status by order under section 6(6) of the Trade Union Act, 1941. "Excepted bodies" are exempt from the requirement laid down in the Trade Union Acts, 1941 to 1990, that bodies who carry on negotiations on the fixing of wages or other conditions of employment must hold a negotiation licence.
The membership of the AGP is made up largely of existing and former members of the Irish Medical Organisation and general practitioners are catered for by that body. I do not, therefore, see the need for the creation of an additional negotiating body for general practitioners and I, accordingly, decided not to grant the AGP "excepted body" status under the Trade Union Act, 1941.