Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank those parties that brought this motion. Sinn Féin fully supports the Debenhams workers and it is public knowledge that many of our representatives have stood shoulder to shoulder with these people. Some Members have already mentioned Sinn Féin's proposals for changing the laws and closing the loopholes in this. It was mentioned that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil supported this but then all of a sudden, when people are not watching, they bury it in committee. There it lies. It has happened so much.

This Private Members' motion is very simple. It is about workers' rights and entitlements. It is as simple as that; rights and entitlements in 2020. I have looked at some of the Government amendments. The original motion is obviously what we are going to support. It is the typical Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael kicking the can down the road and this magic word, "review". For those who are not used to this word, it breaks down to "bury it under the piles of violins so you will not see it." There is a human factor behind this. Thousands of families have been affected. We have all been contacted by people who are distraught, broken and deflated but the one thing they are full of is fight. We have to commend their spirits. There is a precedent here if we start battering the people who are working the hardest and paying their taxes. Sometimes one goes to work and while one probably hates one's job one must do it because of necessity. People who go to their job each morning and who love it and can live in it are very lucky. People who are standing up for their rights are being persecuted because the Government has not got the gumption, the courage to enact proper legislation that protects our own citizens. We do not need reviews. We know the workers are not being protected. I politely encourage the Minister of State to withdraw his amendment tonight and not to be the laughing stock of the country. It is the first term of a new Government of the 2020s and what have we got? They crap on the workers of this country, disrespect their rights and entitlements and all one gets is "Sorry".

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