Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)

No one political entity in the House has a monopoly on the rights of workers. I spoke with regard to the Vita Cortex case, in which there is a serious breach of corporate social responsibility and corporate governance, and the same applies in respect of this case. There is no question but that the rights of workers have not been vindicated and have been trampled upon. Under legislation from 1977 to 2007 governing the protection of employees, a number of provisions deal with an information and consultation process that must be entered into prior to any redundancies being implemented and the provision of information to employees and to the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. In this case, the Minister has not received any statutory notice of such redundancies. That is a serious breach in the first instance. There is a need for my Department to engage with Mr. Meegan and others of Mandate who, it is reported met KPMG today. I would like to get an assessment of what transpired at that meeting because the points raised on this and the previous Topical Issue matter go to the heart of industrial relations policy and vindicating the rights of workers. As a Government, we must ensure there are no precedents set and the legislation is adhered to by corporate entities, individuals and citizens. There is no question that we support the rights of workers as set down in legislation and will seek to do so.

By way of being helpful, I express my willingness to meet workers representatives on this issue in order that we can provide some degree of assistance where possible. I am keeping my statement brief because I realise Members will wish to make further submissions.

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