In 1987, the Labour Court recommended two weeks’ gross pay per year of service, in addition to statutory entitlements, for four portering and household staff made redundant after Sir Patrick Dun’s Hospital closed. The recommendation was signed on 13 March 1987. The Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union had sought seven weeks’ pay per year, saying the workers had lost permanent pensionable jobs and had little prospect of new employment. Management argued that alternative posts were available and that only statutory entitlements were appropriate. The Court had previously accepted that the workers were redundant; after the parties could not agree on compensation, it recommended the additional payment.