Ms Maeve McElwee:

It is absolutely fair to say that, yes, we have raised concerns because we do not understand how they will practically work. Some of the issues the Duffy-Cahill report was trying to address would be much more appropriately addressed through company law than through employment law. I would say to Senator Gavan that the main challenge around that issue of the 30-day consultation, for instance, was that as an employer representative, we would no longer be representing an employer. An employer would no longer have the right in an insolvency situation to engage with their employees - that has been handed over to the liquidator. The liquidator may engage but the employees are no longer being paid because the business is in liquidation and is insolvent. How would one commit employees to that?