A dispute involving air traffic controllers which threatens to disrupt flights at Dublin airport is to be referred to the Labour Relations Commission.
The air traffic controllers, members of the union Impact, had placed an unofficial ban on overtime because of concerns about staffing issues.
In a statement last night, the Irish Aviation Authority said the parties had been unable to agree a way forward in talks. It said the authority was now referring the matter to the Labour Relations Commission as a matter of urgency.
"Currently normal service is being operated at Dublin airport. However, a continuation of the unofficial action by controllers could lead to delays, because, in the interests of safety, the Authority would have to restrict the number of aircraft using Dublin's airspace," it said.
Impact said progress was made on some issues but significant differences remained
The unofficial dispute began on Wednesday night, when air traffic controllers at Dublin refused to fill in for an absent colleague, signalling a new phase to a simmering dispute over staffing issues at the Dublin control tower.
The Irish Aviation Authority responded by accusing the air traffic controllers of breaching a national pay agreement by refusing to work overtime.
The IAA denied there was any staff shortage at the airport.
"Staff are rostered in accordance with the traffic levels," said an authority spokeswoman. But she warned that the overtime refusal had the potential to restrict operations at Dublin.
The authority said the problem was the result of the absence of just one controller and the refusal by other staff to work overtime to cover the absence.
"The withdrawal of this flexibility by controllers is unofficial action in breach of the national pay agreement, Towards 2016, and the authority's Continuity of Service Agreement," the authority said in a statement.
Impact officials met IAA staff last night to try and solve the dispute, which has so far not caused any flight delays.
Long delays at Dublin, Cork and Belfast airports yesterday were caused by a separate incident: the crash landing of a British Airways aircraft at Heathrow airport in London and the subsequent closure of one of the airport's two main runways.
An Impact spokesman said the dispute had been looming since September 11th, 2001, when the IAA stopped recruiting staff. "The whole aviation industry anticipated a downturn, but volumes actually increased steadily," said the Impact spokesman.
He said between 2005 and 2006, the number of flights handled by IAA controllers increased by 36.7 per cent.