Ms Dara Breathnach:

Deepest apologies for my delayed arrival but I had a power cut.

We examined the fines. The fines we are looking at here are the fines that we would apply to a liquidator and equivalent receivers. Those are relatively small, as the Deputy has observed but that is really so that we are not displacing the assets of the business and thereby depriving the various creditors of those assets, including the actual employees themselves.

The €250,000 fine the Deputy mentioned relates to very specific types of situations where people were made redundant and were essentially displaced by cheaper labour from elsewhere. That is not appropriate for a liquidator simply because he or she is not going to be displacing the existing workers in favour of others. That is intended as a punitive measure and is not appropriate in the circumstances of a liquidation. I hope that answers the Deputy's question.