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

As they marched to the Dáil today, Debenhams workers chanted, "Apple got sorted out. We got sold out." The Taoiseach supported the successful appeal against Apple paying the State €13 billion. The Debenhams workers are campaigning for the far smaller sum of €13 million but the Government is taking no action on their behalf. This €13 million is the sum necessary to provide almost 1,000 Debenhams workers with two weeks' statutory redundancy and two weeks per year of service to top it up. To try to win this modest sum, these workers are forced to resort to picketing the 11 Debenhams stores in the Republic of Ireland. It might be more accurate for me to say these shops are being blockaded. They are being picketed around the clock with a view to blocking any attempt to remove stock. The workers understand that liquidation law, framed by the Taoiseach's party and Fine Gael, leaves them way down the pecking order and that they are very unlikely to have their redundancy pay topped up by the liquidator. As the dispute approaches its 100th day this Saturday, blockading the stock in the stores is the one bargaining chip left to these workers and they intend to use it.

I have listened carefully to the Taoiseach's comments on this issue over the past eight days. He offers sympathy on the workers' plight. He downplays the possibility of workers receiving more than the statutory redundancy. He promises the possibility of law reform to improve workers' rights in liquidation situations but only after a review and, implicitly, quite some time later in the lifetime of the Government. To be blunt, this is not going to cut it with these workers. As the acting shop steward for the Blanchardstown store, Ann Peppard, said outside the Dáil less than an hour ago, Micheál Martin's sympathy will not pay her mortgage.

They know that Debenhams can afford to make a just settlement. They know Debenhams has 122 stores currently trading in the UK and that the UK parent company has profited from online sales sourced in the Republic of Ireland every day since the Irish stores closed. They are digging in for a better deal. I honestly do not see how the liquidator will get that stock out. I am certain sure that the threat of arrest will not work. I cannot see court injunctions working either. Sooner or later, the Government will have to intervene here. The Taoiseach was part of a Government that introduced emergency legislation in 2008 when it rushed through the bank guarantee, which ended up costing the taxpayer €64 billion. Is he telling us that whereas emergency legislation for bankers was introduced in 2008 he cannot introduce it for workers in 2020?

A total of €5 million is owed to the Revenue by Debenhams. Is the Taoiseach prepared to say this €5 million should be used towards providing these workers with that basic decent redundancy settlement of two weeks plus two?

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