THE Government last night issued a ringing endorsement of employee profit sharing, with the Department of Enterprise and Employment backing a new study to form the structure of future agreements in both private and public sectors.

Speaking at the annual dinner of the Irish Profit Sharing Association in Dublin, the Department's junior minister, Mr Pat Rabbitte, said the role of employees' share-holding in their enterprises was still not sufficiently recognised.

Because of this, be said, the Government was supporting a pilot project which will provide information on operational cost savings and employee incentives.