Ms Clare Dunne:

We have had significant engagement with the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine on the issue, particularly from the perspective of anybody on an employment permit in the State. I am aware that there was engagement, including between my Department and the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, and between the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection and the employers and the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine over that. State benefits were extended to those who were very much in need. I have it in my notes somewhere that an emergency payment was made payable to those people even though that would not have been anticipated when they came into the country. Nobody could have anticipated what happened in that case.

Most employers did all they could to restructure jobs and move people from one plant that was not operating to a sister plant the might have still been operating. They may have put them on other duties, such as maintenance or cleaning, for a while. Some of them sent employees on training courses on things like health and safety, and maintenance. I know the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection engaged and where appropriate it advanced payments to people.