Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his reply. It is more than three years since four workers were unfairly dismissed and left without redundancy or wages owed to them by Connolly shoes in Dún Laoghaire, a firm which they had worked for, in some cases, over 30 years. They were dumped on the scrap heap by an unscrupulous employer. The LRC and the EAT, as the Minister said, have found on every occasion, based on the issues that have been brought before them, that the workers were right and the employer was wrong.

Yet, three and a half years on, John Mulpeter, who has written to the Minister several times, is still picketing outside the premises. The former director or CEO of Connolly Shoes has set up another shoe business under another name and is still operating, with other employees having replaced those who were unfairly dismissed and forced to picket for the past three years. How can it possibly take so long for workers such as those in Connolly shoes to get justice? Can we have the Minister's assurance that whatever new regime he is considering setting up will prevent this unacceptable situation happening again, and prevent unscrupulous employers treating workers like this and being able to set up the same business under another guise and carry on with impunity?

I note the power of the parliamentary question. John Mulpeter has written to the Minister on several occasions looking for answers and miraculously received a letter yesterday, for which I am sure he is very grateful. He should not have to resort to asking a parliamentary question in order to have a letter answered.

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