23. (1) This Part does not apply—

(a) to a dispute relating to the dismissal of an employee, or

(b) to a person who is employed as a member of the Defence Forces.

(2) In this Part, “relevant employer”, in relation to an employee, means the employee’s employer.

(3) In subsection (1), “dismissal” has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 1977 except that, in applying that definition for the purposes of that subsection, the expressions “employee”, “employer” and “contract of employment”, where used in that definition, shall be given the meanings they have in this Act.