Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Mr. Horgan confirmed to Deputy Fitzmaurice that the profits were €54 million last year. Can he confirm that he is heading for a higher figure this year, based on initial figures? In what year was the protocol he mentioned agreed and against what background? Was that prior to the present and continuing round of transformation? As I and other Deputies have said, the issue at hand for many members of staff is that they are being asked to reapply for their jobs and the pay and conditions in the contract associated with that job are very different from those they had the day before they applied. Pay is greatly diminished, the location is further away and the costs associated with getting to work are such that it is not viable for the people involved. Will the staff discommoded in such fashion be offered voluntary redundancy? Can Mr. Horgan give that commitment? With Mr. Horgan’s background and expertise in industrial relations, it is a poor vindication of the mechanisms, whatever they are, that every form of negotiation or consultation is taking place in the Labour Court.

The region and constituency I come from would not exist were it not for Bord na Móna and the ESB. We would not have won all-Ireland matches, nor would we have the Kilcormacs, the Cloghans or the Bracknaghs in my region. There would be no life or hope for those towns and villages. There is little hope as it is. If I get too political, of course I will be stopped, but there is a crisis. Huge changes have to take place but huge change has taken place. All the stakeholders have sat around the table, come to an agreement, moved forward and progressed. We have survived and moved on and Bord na Móna has diversified, some good, some poor. The current situation and the manner in which changes are taking place will leave us further decimated because there is no future based on the sort of prerogative employed. What is the protocol? When was it agreed and against what background? It was not against a background in which the employees were being asked to have their work practices turned upside down soon.