asked the Minister for Labour the impact he believes the Government guidelines on pay, which were announced on 2 April, will have on the independence and operation of the Labour Court.

The Labour Court is an independent body established by statute. The guidelines contain the Government's view as to the criteria which should be taken into account by all those called on to assist in negotiation of claims or to adjudicate on such claims. The Government consider that due weight should be given to these guidelines so that moderate pay increases can be achieved with a resulting favourable impact on employment and inflation. I do not believe that issue of these guidelines will have adverse effects on the independence of operations of the Labour Court.

Does the Minister not agree that as these guidelines come from the Government, the Labour Court will regard them as a directive, particularly since they are specifically referred to in the guideline as those called upon to adjudicate? Will the Minister agree that this amounts to interference with the independence of the Labour Court?

The Government have issued guidelines. In response to the Deputy's question and to other comments made, I should like to emphasise that the document consists of guidelines in response to a request for such guidelines from the social partners. There is no question of interfering with or removing or changing the statutory powers of the Labour Court. The Labour Court is an independent body established by statute and the Government do not propose to change that.