Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

We will keep a close eye on it. These companies have benefited from IDA grant aid and taxpayers' money. VMware has received more than €4 million since 2005. Microsoft, which has taken over Blizzard and is in the driving seat there, received €1.75 million in 2017 alone. A specific issue I wish to raise relates to companies that come in, take over a company based in Ireland and start dealing with the workforce that is based in Ireland and has contributed its labour and skills for many years. As in the case of Blizzard, many of the workers decide to join a trade union and want the company, when engaging on redundancies, to deal with the trade union as their representative. The company, however, which put its hand out for cash and took the cash, states that it will not negotiate on the number of jobs for redundancy, the package or whether the redundancies are voluntary. It tells the workers that it will speak to their representatives in the plant as part of the 30-day consultation but it is not a negotiation. Rather, it is about how the company is implementing the plans. I think that approach is wrong. I would be interested to hear Mr. O'Rourke's viewpoint on it.