Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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I thank the witnesses for their presentations. It is important to remember that it is not a matter of debate that there is a problem with the law as it currently stands. We have the example of what happened to the workers in Debenhams. More than 1,000 workers were working for a company that clearly engaged in a cynical tactical liquidation to deny those workers what they had in a collective agreement, that is, an enhanced redundancy package. We have a problem. Every time we asked, the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and everyone else would say that what Debenhams did was terrible and shameful but, as it stands, it can happen again. The law needs to be changed to protect workers.

I have a question for Mr. Egan, or whoever chooses to answer. At the end of his statement, he stated that he seeks to represent the consensus or near-consensus view of the CLRG. Is there consensus or near consensus about opposing workers getting preferential status in terms of enhanced redundancy payments?