Mary O'Rourke
Ceist:14 Mrs. O'Rourke asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment if he will intervene in the dispute at Irish Life which has been ongoing for some time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9933/96]
Written Answers. - Irish Life Dispute.
I assume the Deputy is referring to the dispute in Irish Life arising from the proposals contained in the company's "Force for the Future Plan". I am aware that the company is proposing changes in the roles and responsibilities of the staff of its sales force, but that is entirely a matter for the company and not one in which Government has any standing.
The responsibility for the resolution of this dispute is ultimately a matter for the parties directly involved. They have availed of the conciliation service of the Labour Relations Commission and will, I understand, be attending the Labour Court in this context. I would like to take this opportunity to urge the parties to continue their efforts to find an acceptable resolution of the dispute.
I do not consider it appropriate for me to intervene directly in disputes such as this. The services of the dispute settling agencies of the State remain available to the parties.
They were established by Government to assist parties to resolve their differences. As intervention by Government could only undermine their role, deputies should be of one mind with me in recommending that parties use the services of the LRC and the Labour Court to resolve differences.