Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)

I am simply saying we should ask ourselves this question. Would an employer, such as Sky or PayPal, who wanted to invest in this country do so if Ireland had voted "No" to the treaty? I think they would think twice about it. We must bear that in mind. People will oppose the treaty for various reasons but I suggest they bear that question in mind.

A potential investor will also look at our taxation and employment legislation and at that range of issues. All of these issues will be considered. We must ensure that balance. I am afraid the Bill will tip the balance in the wrong direction.

I regret I missed the speeches from the upper corner of the Chamber this evening. I wanted to hear them. However, I read Deputy Tóibín's speech of last night. He referred to our neighbouring country and the regulations in the United Kingdom, but he misrepresented the facts. In the United Kingdom, 60 days notice of redundancy is required, but that country is already considering reducing that to 30 days. If we are to mention what other countries do, we should get our facts right. The United Kingdom is on the way back to where we are because they recognise we have got things right.

Other parts of the Bill propose speeding up the service to people who are made redundant and ensuring they receive their entitlements more promptly. I agree we need to improve on that. Changes have been made to that service but more needs to be done. People are still having to wait months, which is far too long.

I repeat what I said when in opposition: we need to provide for companies in a way which foresees the possibility of going out of business or laying off staff and to flag that possibility at an earlier stage, perhaps behind closed doors, to the various agencies such as IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland or Departments. I encourage such companies to seek help at an earlier stage. We might consider legislation to allow for that, but increasing the number of days to debate redundancy will not achieve anything. If it did, I would support it but I am not convinced of its benefits and I do not understand what it would achieve. I am in favour of earlier notification to those who might be able to step in and help, if we can do that.

I understand there is a grey area where a company is technically insolvent but the workers are not being made redundant and where the company can be forced to become insolvent so the workers will be entitled to receive redundancy benefits. If we move too fast to wind up a company, we eliminate the chance to bring it back from the brink. Deputy Tóibín, who made this proposal, has worked with many companies in the past. Like other Members who have worked with various companies, Deputy Tóibín must know that a company can be saved at the last minute and come back from the brink. If we move too early, we eliminate the chance of that happening and of saving the company. We then have to re-start the company and move the jobs over so that things become very complicated.

I understand the logic of what the Bill is trying to achieve. Members on all sides agree that no harm is meant by the Bill, but we must get the balance right. There are elements of the Bill that can be worked on. Sinn Féin speakers have asked the Minister to look at the issues raised in the Bill and to work on them. Improvements are called for in this area. We can work on those.

See this speech in context