Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)

I welcome the staff and managers from GAME Ireland to the Visitors Gallery. It is a worrying time for them and their families. We cannot lose sight of the human dimension. Early on Monday morning, they were informed without warning that they would need to close their shops. The shop in Limerick city has been one of the landmarks on Cruises Street for more than 16 years. Of its nine employees, some have worked there for as many as 15 years. It is a worrying time for them. The way that GAME UK made this decision and communicated with staff was tardy and unfortunate. We must examine the issue of how companies deal with closures so that there is proper communication with staff.

The rights and interests of staff must be looked after. Their social welfare entitlements must be adhered to so that they are paid their proper redundancies. Their claims must be submitted by the administrators immediately. I welcome the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers Ireland in this context. Until today or yesterday, everything was handled from the UK.

Credits have been given to customers, many of whom are young people. GAME UK is in administration, but many of its shops are surviving. It should consider the Irish situation and find a way to provide people with their proper entitlements, including redundancy payments. We all know that these are difficult times, but companies must take a reasonable approach towards their staff. I commend the GAME staff on the way they have handled their discussions. This morning, they met the administrators, PricewaterhouseCoopers, in Dublin and I understand that further discussions are to take place.

I am a Deputy for Limerick city, where nine people have lost their jobs without warning. It would have been nice had GAME UK allowed its Irish staff to put together a collective package or a series of packages for individual shops to allow them to continue trading. This is a question of jobs and working together and I am glad that the Ceann Comhairle allowed it to be debated as a Topical Issue. I await the Minister of State's response. We are discussing workers' entitlements. This is a difficult time for the people involved and their families, particularly those GAME employees in Limerick.

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