Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am up in the gods. We had a short debate last night with the Minister of State and it is ironic that he and I are back here again so soon. The dignity, importance and value of work were mentioned in last night's debate.

Work delivers respect. It engenders self-respect. It provides financial independence to families. It allows people and families to craft a future for themselves and for their children, and hopefully to provide security in their old age. We have many forms of work in this country and retail has proven to be one of the more difficult areas. In work, there are always implicit contracts of give and take, the contract of exchange, fair work for fair value, and one can argue that the pay given to people is full recompense for what they have done in a day, but one must also add the summation of time and the intrinsic value that employees deliver to an organisation over time. Debenhams is one such organisation in Ireland. We know that there are people there working for extended years, some for over 30 years - a lifetime of work, in fact.

Debenhams in Waterford has been a significant employer for many years. It has not been without its struggles but would be seen as a linchpin retailer. It was the linchpin tenant up to now in the City Square Shopping Centre, providing employment directly and for concessionaires too. It was well supported in Waterford city. It had previous administration difficulties some years ago when workers and the city rallied. I hold here my own Debenhams loyalty card that I got four years ago to show solidarity and support to the workers in Waterford.

The south-east region has the highest regional unemployment in the country. Waterford as a city has the highest unemployment of any city in the country. Debenhams was a valuable workplace for many people and brought much pride to the city. I am astounded, to be quite frank, with "the tactical insolvency", as someone else here said already, that has taken place with this company. I got an email the other day telling me my number of loyalty points and that I can cash them in online. I will not be doing that. I will not support this company in what it has taken and what it has done to the people it has employed.

We need to look again at the enshrinement of employment respect within company law. It is certainly not there at present when a company can avail of this process, as we have heard in the past. Last night, I spoke to the Minister of State about administration light, the protection that should be afforded to small SMEs to keep them clear from speculative administrators who would look to conduct asset-stripping and force companies into administration. The reverse of that is also true. One can also have speculative asset-stripping, which has taken place here, and the movement of funding through two companies in two different jurisdictions. As we have heard, the smaller part of the entity which was saddled with the debt has ultimately become a liability and insolvent because of that debt. That is not fair and I hope, as we spoke about last night, to see fairness in this programme for Government. The Minister of State and I spoke about this yesterday.

"Working class" has been said here a number of times. I do not like that phrase. I think it is a pejorative term that is used too liberally in this House. There are many Deputies in this House and in the Seanad who do not know what working class means. All we know is Irish people working in Ireland. It suggests inequity and division where there should be none. I believe that now is the time that we must signal change in this area. Last night, I mentioned dynamic leadership, innovation and radical reform. Now is the time for the Government to show this resolve and signal, whether a person is a front-line, mid-line or back-line worker, that the Government has that person's back. I believe a resolution to the Debenhams situation can be found. Where there is a will, there is a way. I hope that the Government can resolve and close these loopholes in company law, and treat these vulnerable workers equitably and fairly. It is maybe time that we looked at something like mandated employee trusts in such organisations to ensure that employees in the future are not left quite literally holding the baby and nothing else.

See this speech in context