Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the new Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality and wish her well in her job.

It has been almost one year since the iconic Clerys store on our national main street was unceremoniously shut down and its hard working and loyal staff and many small businesses that operated therein were thrown out onto the streets. In one of the worst examples of corporate greed in our recent history, approximately 500 staff and dozens of small businesses were left with nothing and had to rely entirely on the State's insolvency schemes at significant cost to the State, PRSI contributors and taxpayers.

I support the Clerys workers in their fight for justice and their demand that the type of corporate behaviour and corporate greed that they fell victim to should not be visited on any other Irish worker or small business. Does the Government agree with Mr. Kevin Duffy and Ms Nessa Cahill, the authors of a recent report, on the need to change employment law to protect workers better who are caught in insolvencies like the one at Clerys, which left people out on the street with all of their entitlements gone? Will the Government support the Clerys workers in their search for justice and fair treatment? Will the simple and moderate changes in employment law that were recommended in the Duffy-Cahill report be put into law and implemented by the Government and when will that happen?

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