MINISTER FOR Transport Noel Dempsey has reiterated his opinion that a “no strike” clause for essential services would have to be examined, in the wake of the dispute at Irish airports.

Mr Dempsey described the industrial action by more than 300 air traffic controllers at Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports as “inexcusable” and “unforgivable”.

And he said that the action had resulted in “reputational damage” to Ireland’s industrial image. Potential investors, due to visit the country yesterday, had to cancel because of the airport stoppages, he said.

Mr Dempsey was speaking in the Dáil as he responded to a series of special notice questions from Opposition TDs on the dispute by air traffic controllers, following the suspension of up to 15 controllers by the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) for refusing to co-operate with new technology.

He said that if this “disproportionate type of response to an industrial relations issue is going to be a feature of industrial relations in this country, then every option has to be looked at. I certainly think that this is disproportionate and it is something I will be raising in the first instance with my colleagues in Government”.

He was also against using Air Corps air traffic controllers at this stage. The Minister said that “while there may be some available I don’t think that this is a particular route I’d be advocating”.

The Minister had been pressed by Fine Gael transport spokesman Fergus O’Dowd, who said it was “unacceptable that these people can hold the country to ransom” and he urged the Minister to introduce legislation for no strike clauses in the employment contract of essential services employees so that a “wildcat” strike like this “can never happen again”.

Mr Dempsey said he had expressed his opinion on this previously. “I haven’t changed my views on this. In fact, if anything this particular action has strengthened me in my view in relation to this. It’s not a decision I can make on my own in relation to specific areas. I think there are a number of areas across a number of different departments where this option will have to be looked at.”

He told Labour spokesman Tommy Broughan that “if the unions won’t go to the Labour Court . . . [and] won’t use the machinery of the State, I wouldn’t have a huge a mount of faith that they would decide that they were going to meet me.”

He said “we have huge machinery of State to resolve difficulties”.