asked the Minister for Finance if the board of management of the Central Bank consulted with him before deciding not to accept the recommendations of the Labour Court during the recent Central Bank strike; if he advised the Central Bank that they should not implement the decision of the Labour Court; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

The Board of the Central Bank did not consult me before deciding not to accept the Labour Court recommendation for clerical and administrative staff involved in the recent Central Bank strike. The bank had previously been made aware of the Government's pay guidelines.

Apart from the general Government direction about pay guidelines, did the Minister give any specific instruction to the Central Bank prior to the Labour Court hearing.?

No.

The Minister said the bank were made aware of the Government's pay guidelines, but were they also made aware of the fact that the Government did not intend to adhere to their guidelines and that, therefore, the bank should not be bound by those guidelines?

I am tempted to ask the Deputy if he would have preferred the Central Bank to adopt the much more generous guidelines which he and some of his party colleagues indicated earlier. As I said, the bank were made aware of the Government's general pay guidelines and in the course of their submission to the Labour Court referred to the concerns they had in relation to the overall levels of pay.

Understandably the Government made the bank aware of the general pay guidelines, but did they tell the bank that they did not intend to adhere to those pay guidelines?

The Government do not discuss policy intentions with people in other agencies.

The Labour Court were made aware of the Government guidelines on pay policy but, with hindsight, is the Minister satisfied that the Central Bank in not accepting the Labour Court award, which was in accordance with their interpretation of the Government guidelines, plus their assessment of the Central Bank's position — they made £156 million profit and paid something like £7 million in wages — made the appropriate decision? Does the Minister believe the Central Bank made a grave error in this case?

I am not quite sure if I understood the Deputy's question.

What is the purpose of the Labour Court?

I do not think it is appropriate under this heading to discuss the functions of the Labour Court.

What is the Minister's view of the Central Bank's decision in refusing to accept the Labour Court award?

10.