Vol. 404 No. 2
13 Mr. J. Mitchell asked the Minister for Labour the date it is proposed to set up the Labour Relations Commission; if the membership of the commission has yet been nominated; the number of staff likely to be accredited to the commission; where they will be recruited from; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The Labour Relations Commission will be established in January. The chairman and members of the Commission are: Chairman, Mr. Dan McAuley, former Director General of the Federation of Irish Employers. ICTU nominees, Mr. Kevin Duffy, Assistant General Secretary, ICTU. Mr. Phil Flynn, General Secretary, Local Government and Public Services Union. FIE nominees, Mr. Finbar Flood, Managing Director, Arthur Guinness Son & Co. (Dublin) Ltd. Mr. Turlough O'Sullivan, Director, Federation of Irish Employers. Minister's nominees, Dr. Joyce O'Connor, Director, National College of Industrial Relations. Mr. Michael Keegan, Former Secretary Department of Labour. The chief executive officer of the commission will be Mr. Kieran Mulvey, General Secretary of the Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland.
The commission will have responsibility for the promotion of good industrial relations through the provision of a number of functions both new and existing. The commission will: provide conciliation and advisory services; prepare and offer guidance on codes of practice; provide an equality officer service; provide a rights commissioner service; conduct or commission research; review and monitor industrial relations developments and assist joint labour committees and joint industrial councils in the exercise of their functions.
An important objective is to bring about a change in attitudes so that the responsibility for dispute resolution is shifted back to the parties themselves where it primarily belongs. Through their various services, the commission will encourage and facilitate a more active approach to dispute prevention and resolution.
The staff employed on the existing functions will be automatically transferred to the commission on its establishment. The question of additional staff will be a matter for the commission in consultation with the Minister for Labour.
