Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this Topical Issue today and for selecting yesterday the related Topical Issue matters of the disgraceful treatment of workers at La Senza and Vita Cortex. In the cases of La Senza in Dublin, Vita Cortex in Cork and Lagan Brick in Kingscourt, Count Cavan, laid off workers have been treated in a reprehensible manner by employers. A pattern is clearly emerging and must be stopped.

Last week, I met the protesting workers at Lagan Brick. They have won widespread support for their protest at their disgraceful treatment by the owners of Lagan Brick. At an hour's notice ten days before Christmas, they were told that their jobs were gone and the plant would close. There was no negotiation, proper redundancy procedure or redundancy payment beyond statutory redundancy. One of the workers has given service of 43 years to the company and every worker I met had given more than 20 years of service. They have maintained a 24-hour vigil at the planet since being laid off on 15 December.

Lagan Brick claims that the Kingscourt plant was closed, but workers believe that the company's position is not as has been claimed and is still viable. They fear that, following their lay-off, the company may well seek to employ agency workers at lower rates of pay and poorer conditions. They believe that contracts for work at the plant are available. The workers agreed to talks with the Labour Relations Commission, LRC. The employers eventually agreed. The process was addressed on Tuesday and has been deferred until next Monday.

Whatever the outcome of the LRC talks, the Government has a responsibility to address the pattern emerging from each of the cases I have cited. It cannot be left solely to the State's industrial relations machinery.

It is important that the House be made aware of the reply that the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation gave to my parliamentary question yesterday, in which he stated that Lagan Brick was in breach of the Protection of Employment Act 1977, as amended. It is clear from his reply that it is a collective redundancy situation. As we address the matter, the statutory period of consultation has not yet lapsed. The company is in clear breach of its obligations, responsibilities and role under the legislation. I urge the Minister to make the required intervention to make it clear to these and other offending employers that workers in this country will not be treated in such a fashion. I urge the Minister to indicate to the House today his intent to follow through on the logic of his response.

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