Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

To be clear, Mandate Trade Union, as well as almost 2,000 Debenhams workers or people who worked at Debenhams, is calling on the Minister, tonight, to appoint an authorised officer to intervene in the Debenhams liquidation. The union cites European law that gives the Minister the power to do so, but even leaving legal powers aside, there is nothing to prevent her bringing to bear political and moral pressure for the extension of the period of consultation. She should do so and not offer mealy-mouthed excuses in the House to those workers. I have to hand a copy of the redundancy notice that issued to the workers today. What a scandalous document. It cites minimum payment, statutory redundancy and payment of two weeks' wages per year of service for workers who have given a lifetime of service. Did the Minister know that in nine of the 11 stores, there are staff who go back to the Roches Stores days - 14 years and more? There is a worker in one of the shops in Cork who is heading towards 50 years' service. Contrast that with the treatment of the former chief executive officer of Debenhams UK, Mr. Sergio Bucher, who last year, when he left the company, was given a golden handshake of £700,000 sterling.

This is an injustice also to the taxpayer because Debenhams UK is asset-stripping the operation. It is asset-stripping the online business, the valuable leases and the stock. It is leaving behind nothing but debt. This is Clerys mark 2. It will cost the taxpayer and the Minister's Department €25 million at a minimum. All the while, there are 1.239 million items of stock in those 11 stores. It is stock that is listed in the Irish accounts, never in the UK accounts, yet the UK parent company is trying to make a grab for it. It is stock that, if it realised €20 per item, a conservative estimate, would raise €25 million, which could and should be used to save jobs in this country or, at the very least, to provide a decent redundancy package for the workers. This is an asset-stripping scandal.

The time has come for the Irish Congress of Trade Unions to speak and to act on this issue. Fianna Fáil Deputies spoke on the issue earlier, as in previous weeks they have offered sympathy to the workers. That sympathy has been welcomed by the workers but they know, as does Fianna Fáil know, that the time has passed for words of sympathy. The time has come to act and Fianna Fáil is in a position to act. It is involved in a negotiation for government at the moment. It could bang the table and insist and demand that the State intervene. That could and should be done by Fianna Fáil.

The workers have balloted and 97% have voted for industrial action. They will picket to prevent stock being moved. The Minister's Department should actively support the workers in that stance because that would defend the interest of the taxpayer, with that €25 million at stake.

I return to my original point and ask the Minister to respond. Mandate Trade Union and almost 2,000 workers are asking the Minister to act.

They are citing European law as a justification for it. Even leaving legal powers aside, I ask the Minister to outline anything that prevents her from applying political and moral pressure to state that this period of consultation must be extended to ensure the money that is there with that stock is used to save jobs. If it is not used to save jobs, then it should at the very least be used to provide decent severance packages for these workers, who deserve it. The Minister should get off the fence. What is she prepared to do?

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