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

The Minister of State, Deputy Nash, in fairness to him, last week set out in great detail what happened with regard to Gordon Brothers and Natrium Limited. They used a precise, methodical technique to separate their responsibilities and their assets. Then the workers were callously turfed out on the street. In that report, the Minister says it was never really the intention of Gordon Brothers to operate a successful department store in the city and that their objective was a property play. The sole reason for the multiple companies was the separating of assets. Considering all these issues, why is it that the Minister believes there are no deficiencies in the legislation? Even the Minister's colleague, Senator Lorraine Higgins, admitted on the radio last week that this was an issue relating to the corporate veil. She further admitted that this is not the first time it has happened. I believe a large number of companies have experienced this.

Why is the Minister, the author of this legislation, now saying that there is a question about the legislation and whether it could or could not resolve this? Surely as author of the legislation he should know this. If there is still a question mark about it, why is he not making damned sure and inserting a provision into legislation in a watertight fashion to ensure this can never happen again?

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