Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

If Ms McElwee does not think there is an issue and that what happened to the Debenhams workers could not happen again or, if it did, that would be fine, that is one thing. I do not think we as legislators, should, stand over a gap in the legislation that allows workers to be treated in the way the Debenhams workers were treated. It behoves us, as legislators, to ensure we tighten up those loopholes. That is the intention of the Bill.

I am conscious that my time is short. I have a question for Mr. Berney and Mr. Light. Mr. Berney stated that the Bill has his full support and that of ICTU. That will be welcomed by the sponsors of the Bill. When workers face redundancy in the context of an insolvency, is it the case that they cannot negotiate? In some cases, they can do so but, in others, they cannot and, as Mr. Light observed, they find that the negotiating table is closed.