Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)

The Minister's answer is not good enough. He has merely outlined the status quo and the backdrop against which the scandalous decisions have been made by employers to leave workers with nothing, without notice of closures which are sprung on them deliberately to evade the making of statutory redundancy payments. This is happening within the legislative framework outlined by the Minister, which clearly shows that systems and the level of enforcement are inadequate. There is an onus on the Minister to look further.

The question asked what action the Minister would take, and there are a number of measures on which I would like the Minister to comment. The only way workers can meet the threat when closure is sprung on them is by occupying the place of work. Although it did not happen in Vita Cortex and La Senza, when workers occupied the place of work in Thomas Cook, they were dragged out. There should be a provision in these instances where workers could be given legal immunity. That is particularly relevant where people have given all their adult lives working in a particular place. Will the Minister comment on that?

Such people should be entitled to examine the books and the financial claims being made by employers, such as Vita Cortex's Jack Ronan, who say they have no money when everybody knows they have. Organisations such as KPMG represented La Senza in breaching legislation and avoiding statutory provisions, and they have been employed by Departments, which should not happen. The last issue is in the area of enforcement, for which the Minister's Department is responsible, and measures for staffing adequately the Employment Appeals Tribunal and other organisations.

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