asked the Minister for Labour the number of prosecutions taken under the Protection of Employment Act, 1977, since the Act came into effect; the number of breaches of the Act which have come to the attention of his Department; if he considers that the Act is affording adequate protection to workers threatened by redundancy; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

No breaches of the provisions of the Protection of Employment Act, 1977, which would have warranted the institution of prosecution proceedings, have come to the attention of my Department.

During the past two years all complaints by trade unions regarding noncompliance by employers with the provisions of the Act have been examined with a view to possible prosecution. A breach of the Act had not, however, occurred in any case.

Although the Act makes provision for trade unions to inform the Minister about any aspect of the statutory notification arrangements, few have availed of this procedure. I recently had a meeting with the executive council of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions during which the question of the enforcement of the Act was discussed. I expressed my concern that the Act had only a limited impact beyond the notification requirements and the delay in implementing collective dismissals. I am convinced that there is scope for encouraging consultations which would enable trade unions to put forward opinions as to ways and means of avoiding or reducing the proposed redundancies.

I have also included a proposal in the recent Discussion Document on Industrial Relations for the introduction of a code of practice dealing with consultation with workers' representatives on proposed collective redundancies.