Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister has said the president of the University of Limerick has requested the assistance of the Department in bringing the issue to a satisfactory conclusion and that he agrees that his Department will be available. What practical steps can it take to bring it to a successful conclusion? We have a situation where people were wrongfully suspected. They are being forced to rely on social welfare payments. They did the State some service and we want to get them back to work. Does the Minister agree with me that it does not indicate good faith on the part of the university when it directed them to go back into the very section of the department where it was known that they would not be accepted, where they would encounter hostility and where it would be impossible for them to work? That indicates to me an intention or objective on the part of the university to essentially get rid of the two staff members. Would the Minister regard it as useful to meet them in order that they could tell him face to face about their experiences and in order that he could tell them what the Department intended to do to assist the process of getting them back to work? What can we expect to happen next?

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