Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It seems to go way beyond the scope of the Government. We are four years into its term of office yet this is one of the first issues that fell heavily upon the Oireachtas as soon as we walked in the door after the last general election. There was an avalanche of companies going to the wall in this way. Looking at it does not afford protections; only through legislation can we achieve that. I ask the Minister to imagine he is back in 2010 and canvassing during the election. Would he say to an interviewer that every opportunity the Government gets to fix a problem will be missed and the issue pushed over to another Bill? I have come at the Minister at every opportunity to resolve this. Every Bill that lends itself to potentially resolving this is described by the Minister as "not the right place for it". The Minister is not searching for the right place. We should take advantage of every opportunity to resolve this.

To speak to the other amendments in the grouping, it is also proposed that the Minister should make a decision on an application to the insolvency fund within 60 days of it being made. If the decision is not made within 60 days, the Minister will have to make a statement on it within 30 days. It is further proposed that the Minister should publish further updates at 30-day intervals until such time as the matter is determined. Like the legislation, amendment No. 54 makes provision for a person who has not had a decision from the Minister under section 6 of the 1984 Act to make a complaint to the tribunal. It is a system that motivates a Minister who is standing idly by to act on behalf of workers who simply want to be paid their wages, holiday pay and redundancy. I appeal to the Minister to ensure that he is proactive in taking any opportunity that presents itself finally to resolve this issue.

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