Bruton says IDA not pressured over letter

THE Minister for Enterprise and Employment, Mr Bruton, has strongly denied that he influenced the withdrawal by IDA Ireland of a letter to a Dail committee expressing concern about a new law imposing a 48-hour working week.

The letter was sent last month to the Dail Committee on Enterprise and Economic Strategy. In it the IDA warned that the Organisation of Working Time Bill would create problems, particularly for Irish-based multinationals. An IDA spokesman said at the time that the letter had been sent to the committee "in error".

Yesterday in the Dail, the PD leader, Ms Mary Harney, suggested that the IDA letter was only withdrawn three weeks after it was sent because its "political master" had expressed concern.

"That is categorically not the case," the Minister told the House yesterday. "I have had numerous discussions with the IDA on this issue."

Ms Harney said that it was clear that the Minister had exerted pressure on the IDA. "While you might not have asked it to remove the letter, making contact with it and expressing your surprise, would be strong enough for any agency."

Mr Bruton said that he had numerous contacts with the IDA's chief executive on the topic. "And I think, therein lies my surprise at the letter when I discovered it.,"

He added that many of the issues which they had discussed concerned individual companies, and he had met several of them and worked through their concerns.

Those concerns had also informed the committee stage amendments introduced by the Minister of State for Finance, Ms Eithne Fitzgerald.

Ms Harney said that the IDA in its letter was seriously concerned that Ireland was not taking ad vantage of the opt-out clause. " Are you suggesting that it has changed its mind in that regard and is no longer concerned?"

Mr Bruton said that the IDA

had already spoken for itself and indicated that at the time of the letter it was not privy to the amendments being introduced to the legislation.

Ms Fitzgerald later told Ms Harney that the American Chamber of Commerce had not sought a meeting with her or Mr Bruton on the legislation.

However, at the request of the chamber, an officer of her Department provided a briefing on the Bill.