MSF national secretary Mr John Tierney is to become the new co-director of the National Centre for Partnership. He replaces Mr John O'Dowd, former general secretary of the Civil and Public Service Union, who is to move into private consultancy. The centre was established for three years under the Partnership 2000 agreement, with the ICTU and IBEC each nominating a co-director. The current IBEC co-director is Mr Jim O'Neill, a former general manager of Irish Life.

The fact that congress has nominated a senior trade union leader to the centre indicates that the trade union movement wants the centre to continue its work into the foreseeable future, whether there is a successor to Partnership 2000 or not.