Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State at the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Joe McHugh, for taking this Topical Issue matter. It has been brought to my attention recently that almost 150 people have been made redundant or are in the process of being made redundant at C&C Gleeson because their positions are being moved to Northern Ireland. Was the Minister aware of this development? Was the Department given the proper statutory notice? Did it engage in negotiations or discussions with the company on how best to encourage it to keep these jobs in Dublin and Tipperary?

A more important issue for me, given that all politics are local, is the treatment of a constituent of mine who has given 34 years of service to C&C. He turned down an offer from the company of voluntary redundancy, stating that he had a couple of good years left and wanted to continue working. He was told it was tough luck and he was being made redundant. When he refused to accept redundancy and suggested he might get his trade union involved or picket the plant, he was immediately walked off the premises and placed on gardening leave until this day next week when the statutory notice period runs out. The key issue is the way in which my constituent is being treated in comparison with the approximately 140 other employees who are being made redundant by C&C Gleeson. The average redundancy payment for these employees is between three and four weeks pay per year of service, which would be a sizeable sum for a person who has given 20, 30 or 35 years of service. The gentlemen about whom I have spoken has been offered two weeks of severance pay for each year of service he has given the C&C Group. I believe this offer was made as a direct result of his resistance to being made redundant or, as occurred in his case, being effectively forced to retire.

What is the Minister of State's opinion, if he is able to give one, of an organisation with the stature and success of C&C Gleeson treating some of its staff in the manner I have outlined? Specifically, what is his opinion on the disparity in treatment being shown to some of those who, unfortunately, find their positions being made redundant and relocated to the North?

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