Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)

I wish to share time with Deputies Michael Colreavy, Mary Lout McDonald, Johnathan O'Brien, Pádraig Mac Lochlainn and Pearse Doherty.

I welcome the opportunity to speak to the Bill. This is timely legislation and as many of my party colleagues have mentioned, the purpose of the Bill is to enhance the period of notice given to workers being made redundant collectively and expedite the hearing and processing of claims to entitlements. It also seeks to allow workers who have been made redundant by a company which is, in effect, insolvent but which has not had a liquidator appointed to claim their entitlements from the insolvency fund. The real effect of the Bill, though, is to provide for some additional supports and relief for people at what is almost always a trying and vulnerable time. We should not forget that behind every announcement of the latest employment statistics and job losses, of which we have heard far too many in the last few years, there are the lives and livelihoods of ordinary people. Theirs is the real story and we have become all too familiar with employers taking callous advantage of them and, by extension, their families and communities.

Far too often we have seen an approach to redundancy by employers which has been nothing short of incredible. This does not apply to all employers; far from it. We all acknowledge that in the normal course of events companies come into and go out of existence. Some succeed and some fail and when they fail, workers are made redundant. This is accepted. It is also accepted that employers take risks and make considerable investments in getting businesses off the ground and sustaining them. However, what is equally clear to at least some of us in the House is that employees, ordinary workers at every level, make a business. Their efforts, hours worked and dedication are fundamental in ensuring viability. In the cases of Waterford Crystal, TalkTalk, La Senza, Lagan Brick, Vita Cortex and the Game stores, for example, this recognition was obviously absent. I have had cause in my constituency of Cork East to deal personally with ex-workers, their wives and families at a number of these sites. It is their plight that the Bill seeks to address in part. These are some of the notable examples. There are, undoubtedly, many others that never make the six o'clock news, many other workers who receive notification of redundancy and are refused their agreed and reasonable entitlements. If we keep going as we are, there is no doubt that we will see increasing numbers of such cases as unscrupulous employers seek to feather current and future ventures in what is an enabling environment.

We have seen employers who will do everything in their power to avoid doing the right thing and to avoid their responsibilities. The bottom line is money, personal profit and personal greed above all else. Consideration for the effects of their actions is secondary - how they affect staff and, to a lesser extent, customers and suppliers. It is no co-incidence that the commitment of a number of these employers to Ireland and its people can be questioned. Anything goes in business and the bottom line mentioned is God. These companies have shown themselves to be quite willing to abandon loyal and dedicated staff for the prospect of employing cheaper labour and making higher profits elsewhere - mar a dearfhá, is glas iad na cnoic i fhad uainn. At a time when people are exposed and vulnerable, with the cuts and charges introduced by Fine Gael and the Labour Party making day-to-day living even more difficult, there is a sub-culture of exploitation. These and other unscrupulous employers are, in a premeditated and planned way, taking steps to minimise their own personal losses at the expense of the very people who have worked hard to give them that status.

The current economic climate should provide us with the opportunity to take stock of what is important to us. I call on all Deputies to support the Bill. Workers would benefit. It would give them some extra security and protection at what is always a trying time. Responsible employers would have nothing to fear and a number of unions have already indicated their support. The House needs to show where its loyalty lies. Is it with the needy or is it still, even with the Labour Party in government, very firmly with the greedy?

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