Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

We recently saw the collapse of the Thomas Cook Group, which placed 22,000 jobs at risk and resulted in the repatriation of more than 150,000 holidaymakers, the biggest ever peacetime repatriation. The cost of that operation is estimated to be greater than the sum Thomas Cook Group sought to maintain those jobs and keep the company afloat. We are likely to see many similar cases, maybe some of a similar scale, in just four weeks' time if a no-deal Brexit becomes a reality. Clearly, the British Government was not prepared for that eventuality but are we prepared? Do we have a decision-making mechanism to immediately support companies that are under that pressure in four weeks' time? Do we have access to liquid cash that would be able to support such companies? The Taoiseach told me last week he would much prefer early intervention to sustain jobs than to seek to support unemployed people or to find replacement jobs. We do not know what the mechanism is yet. When will the Government spell that out for us?

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