The Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has welcomed the decision by Irish Ferries management to re-enter talks with trade unions on its redundancy plans.
He said the conciliation process through the Labour Relations Commission is the appropriate way to proceed.
Labour Court talks between management and unions adjourned this evening after less than an hour.
Management and workers have been locked in a prolonged dispute over the company's plan to lay off around 550 seafaring staff and replace them with cheaper overseas labour.
The Chief Executive of Irish Ferries, Eamonn Rothwell, earlier told RTÉ News he intended to implement the voluntary redundancy programme at the company within three to four weeks.
Mr Rothwell rejected allegations that overseas agency workers whom he planned to recruit to replace current Irish staff would be exploited.
He said that many agency ferry workers earned higher take-home pay than Irish workers on the minimum wage, despite having a lower gross pay. This is because they are not liable to tax and their accommodation and living expenses are paid by the company.
Mr Rothwell pointed out that 95% of all ships entering and leaving Ireland have outsourced crewing arrangements.
Today at the Labour Court, Irish Ferries was seeking a speedy recommendation on issues affecting ships' officers who constitute 18% of the staff.
The company said this would then allow them to process the redundancies in line with the clear desire of the overwhelming majority of staff.
SIPTU strike deferred
SIPTU had deferred its planned strike pending the outcome of today's talks before the Labour Court.
Both sides have contradicted each other on the number of employees who have accepted the voluntary redundancy package.
The company claims 90% of its workers have accepted the severance package, which was on offer up to yesterday evening.
However, SIPTU says that many of the workers who had accepted the redundancy package have now changed their minds.
The Attorney General's preliminary advice is that the Irish Ferries redundancies are not genuine because staff are merely being replaced with cheaper workers from Eastern Europe.
This suggests the company will not get a State rebate of over €6 million towards its €50 million redundancy package.
However, it also means staff will be refused key tax and social welfare benefits, making the package less attractive.
Company sources are adamant the redundancies are valid. They say they got the State rebate when they displaced staff on the French route in similar circumstances.
