David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

After the last economic crash, a lot of companies treated their workers disgracefully. We saw the Vita Cortex workers in Cork and their heroic struggle and protest. We saw the Waterford Crystal workers, who were dragged through the courts for their pension entitlements. We saw it with Game, La Senza and many more examples of workers who were treated in a shameful way. Then along came Clerys and it was clear again that corporate greed was at the heart of what happened. There was a tactical insolvency involving multiple entities of companies whereby companies could separate their assets from their responsibilities to employees. It became obvious to many more people that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael especially had no regard for workers' rights. We see it in the programme for Government. There is barely a mention of workers' rights despite all of what went before. It was quite rightly described as tea and sympathy by Deputy Paul Murphy earlier. All the tea and sympathy was rolled out for the Clerys workers. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil Deputies and Ministers were stepping over themselves to meet them yet they did precious little to make sure it did not happen again. The previous Government even set up a task force and a group to consider what should happen. What came out of that was the Duffy Cahill report. What did the Government do? It sat on it and did absolutely nothing. None of the recommendations has been implemented.

I introduced a Bill in 2017 that never got beyond Second Stage because the Government blocked it. Clerys workers were up in the Gallery at the time and they were supportive of the Bill because they did not want what happened to them to happen to anybody else. They said and we said it would happen again unless the Government legislated but of course, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael refused to do so. Then, along came the Debenhams case with workers again being treated in exactly the same way with what could be described as a tactical insolvency. Ministers then roll in and say it is a matter for the company and nothing to with them. It has everything to do with the Government because it allows these companies time and time again to operate in this way, to treat workers shamefully, and it will not legislate. Almost every single Bill that has been brought before the Dáil by the Opposition over the last ten to 15 years under successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Governments to improve workers' rights has been rejected.

There are no collective bargaining rights in the programme for Government, nothing on tactical insolvency, nothing to improve the terms and conditions of employment for ordinary working people because the Government simply does not care. I am sick of the tea and sympathy. It must come to an end. I support the motion. It is shameful that the Government has not supported it and has tabled an amendment which, as others have noted, seeks to muddy the waters.

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