Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I would hotly dispute the contention that policies being pursued by the Government are undermining retail business. The truth is that the Government has made a number of interventions to improve the environment for business in the retail sector, whether it be in terms of access to credit or their cost structure. The Minister of State, Deputy Perry, is conducting an audit of the licences with a view to simplifying licensing in respect of the retail sector. There is much work to make it easier to do business and to create employment.

Of course, restructuring of businesses is what we need to encourage. For example, as part of the Companies Bill 2012 coming before the Dáil shortly, I am ensuring that examinerships can be taken in the Circuit Court, which has a regional presence, and it will be easier for companies that are in difficulty to get the protection of the courts to allow a work-out with their creditors. That is a practical way of making it easier to see companies restructured.

Clearly, the law is there to protect workers. I set out the different Acts. Workers have rights. NERA is there to help them enforce those rights. We have sophisticated and proven institutions, such as the Labour Relation Commission, to deal with disputes and to help workers and employers reach solutions in difficult situations. There is the long stop of an insolvency payment system to meet persons' obligations in respect of their rights should their jobs be lost and the employer be proven insolvent. We have a range of measures seeking to protect workers in these situations.

These are very difficult situations but we seek, as we did in this instance, to intervene to support workers in those to ensure that they-----

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