Vol. 472 No. 3
23 Mr. T. Kitt asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment if he or officials in his Department have been in contact with ISME since the commencement of talks on a follow-up agreement to the Programme for Competitiveness and Work; and the measures, if any, he will take to bring ISME into the negotiations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22604/96]
The decision by ISME, the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association, to stay out of the talks on a follow-up agreement to the Programme for Competitiveness and Work has been raised on a number of occasions both at ministerial and official level with the organisation. I believe that ISME ought to be party to the talks, making a constructive contribution from within the process; I said as much to them at the recent opening of their new offices, and again at their conference in Killarney last week.
It is regrettable that they have not been disposed to participate. Active participation in the process, rather than remaining critically aloof, must surely be a more positive approach. Ultimately, however, the choice as to whether or not to participate is one for ISME themselves to make, and that choice must be respected.
