Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The proceedings of Oireachtas committees will be conducted without the requirement for social distancing, with normal capacity in the committee rooms restored. However, committees are encouraged to take a gradual approach to this change. Members and witnesses have the option to attend meetings in the relevant committee room or online through Microsoft Teams. All those attending in the committee room and its environs should continue to sanitise and wash their hands properly and often, avail of sanitisers, be respectful of other people's physical space and practise good respiratory etiquette. If they have any Covid-19 symptom, no matter how mild, they should not attend in the committee room. Members and everyone else in attendance are asked to exercise personal responsibility in protecting themselves and others from the risk of contracting Covid-19. As members well know, members who wish to participate in the meeting remotely must do so from within the Leinster House complex only.

Apologies have been received from Senator Garvey.

The Companies (Protection of Employees' Rights in Liquidations) Bill 2021 proposes to provide for the inclusion of redundancy payments among the list of preferential debts provided for by section 621 of the Companies Act 2014. It also proposes to insert a new section 621A, which would provide that "payments due to provide for the discharge of the entitlements of the employees who have been made redundant as a result of the employers' insolvency shall have priority to all other debts." A central issue in our consideration of the Bill is the position of employees as creditors in the winding up of a company's liquidation. When a company is liquidated, either through insolvency or voluntarily, its assets are collected for distribution to its creditors.

Today, I am pleased that we have the opportunity to consider these matters further with representatives from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ICTU, and IBEC. From ICTU, I welcome Mr. Liam Berney, industrial officer, and Mr. Gerry Light, general secretary of Mandate. From IBEC, I welcome Ms Maeve McElwee, director of employee relations, and Ms Pauline O'Hare, senior employment law manager.

Before we start, I wish to explain some limitations to parliamentary privilege and the practice of the Houses as regards references that witnesses may make to another person in their evidence. The evidence of witnesses physically present or who give evidence from within the parliamentary precincts is protected by absolute privilege pursuant to the Constitution and statute. Witnesses are again reminded of the long-standing parliamentary practice to the effect that they should not criticise or make charges against any person or entity by name or in such a way as to make him, her or it identifiable or otherwise engage in speech that might be regarded as damaging to the good name of the person or entity. Therefore, if their statements are potentially defamatory of an identifiable person or entity, they will be directed to discontinue their remarks. It is imperative that they comply with any such direction.

The opening statements have been delivered to members. To commence our consideration on this matter today, I invite Mr. Berney to make his opening remarks on behalf of ICTU.