Mr Foley, who has held the role since 2016, has played a key role in resolving high-profile disputes, including last year’s Aer Lingus pay row with its pilots.

The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment has advertised for his successor. Before becoming chairman, Mr Foley served as deputy chairman and previously worked as the director of conciliation, workplace mediations, and early resolution services with the Labour Relations Commission.

The Labour Court described Mr Foley as “pivotal” to workplace dispute resolution in Ireland. “With a direct style, he was ever the pragmatist and expected the same from the disputing parties,” it stated in a LinkedIn post.

“There has arguably been no greater advocate for the valued resources of the State’s industrial relations dispute-resolution institutions and no more fervent a protector of the Labour Court’s role as ‘the court of last resort’.”

Over a career spanning more than 40 years, Mr Foley has worked on disputes involving companies including the HSE, Irish Rail, AIB, and National Irish Bank. During the financial crisis, he was instrumental in agreements that addressed major staff cuts in the banking sector.

Last year, he mediated the lengthy pay dispute between Aer Lingus and its pilots, which had resulted in strikes, work-to-rule action, and the cancellation of hundreds of flights.

Mr Foley also chaired facilitation processes for Aer Lingus in 2004 during significant restructuring efforts following the 9/11 attacks and acted as a mediator during the public sector pay cuts of 2010. Alongside Kieran Mulvey, he helped broker the Croke Park Agreement, which saw unions agree to reforms in exchange for no further pay cuts or redundancies.