Eamon Scanlon (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have a solicitor's letter regarding a company which presented in the High Court with a petition for examinership on 16 January. On 3 May, the scheme was approved by order of court with an effective date set as 14 June 2018. Four companies have been in contact with me in regard to moneys owed. The Minister of State and I met a gentleman from that part of the world in Arigna a number of months ago. Sadly, the same individual has been badly caught again, this time for €70,000. A plant hire company is owed €17,000, a machine company is owed €23,000 and another company is owed €60,000. This money is all owed by one company in one area on foot of work in regard to which it was supported with State grants. The company has paid none of these people since September 2017 notwithstanding the fact that they continued to work on site into 2018. These companies have been offered 1.75% of the debts owed to them. That is €403 in the case of the €23,000; €1,200 in the case of the €70,000; and €1,000 in the case of the €60,000. This is legal robbery and it cannot continue. Small companies are being put out of business and their employees' jobs are being wiped out by legal gangsterism, which is what this is.

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