THE Irish Small and Medium Enterprises' Association (ISME) has been invited to talks at the Taoiseach's Department to discuss its application to join the social partners. However, without the endorsement of the two main social partners, IBEC and the ICTU, the application is unlikely to succeed.

An invitation was sent out to ISME's chairman, Mr Eoghan Hynes, yesterday by the Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach, Mr Gay Mitchell. The Minister said he would be "happy to meet ISME and hear what they have to say". He would not comment on the chances of its application being successful.

Earlier this week, ISME members concluded a ballot on the issue of seeking "Social Partnership Status". Just over half of the 1,200 members participated and the result, according to ISME's director, Mr Frank Mulcahy, was an overwhelming majority in favour of seeking social partnership status.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions is unlikely to look favourably on the idea of having another employer organisation at the negotiating table when talks begin on a successor to the Programme for Competitiveness and Work. Many unions also perceive ISME as representing one of the least "union friendly" sectors of the economy.

However, an ICTU spokesman confined himself yesterday to saying it was not ICTU policy to comment on disputes between inter employer organisations.

IBEC declined to comment, but it can be expected to oppose any role for ISME in future national pay talks. ISME was founded two years ago after Mr Mulcahy led a sizeable proportion of the members of the Small Firms' Association out of IBEC.

Another organisation which has expressed an interest in becoming a social partner in recent years is the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed. It, too, has found little support forthcoming from the existing social partners.