John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is my first opportunity to congratulate the Leas-Cheann Comhairle on her own elevation and wish her well in that post. We both sit in that chair from time to time and it is a good and privileged experience. I know she will be a fair adjudicator on Dáil proceedings and I wish her my personal best.

I am delighted to have a brief opportunity to speak on this Bill. As the previous speaker, Deputy O'Connor, mentioned, it raises specific issues on companies winding up, examinerships, liquidations, and, specifically, regarding the obligations, duties and responsibilities of directors of insolvent companies. In the present context, one cannot help but think of the plight of the Debenhams workers and the application some of the measures in this Bill may have.

What was obvious, in terms of the Debenhams situation, was the perception that the company took advantage of Covid-19 to wind up the company and, certainly, the parent company. That is the claim of those who are picketing and striking and those who were laid off at short notice, many of whom had between 25 and 30 years' service with the company.

It calls out for additional legislation and powers, much of which was flagged following the closure and winding up of Clerys four years ago after which we thought significant lessons had been learned. A review was carried out into the issue by two eminent researchers, Mr. Kevin Duffy and Ms Nessa Cahill, who produced a fine report and made some very fine recommendations which were sat on for four years. We now have a golden opportunity.

While there are some dissimilarities between what happened with Clerys, a profitable company sitting on significant capital assets, and what happened with Debenhams where there have been trading and profit issues going back several years, there are significant lessons to be learned. Notice should be given, as was referenced in the Duffy Cahill report, and the value of stock should be taken into account. One significant recommendation, which unfortunately has not yet been provided for in law, is to legally facilitate State creditors to forgo losses in order to channel the capital from those debts into a fund that would look after workers who have been left in this situation. This simply cannot happen again. It should not have been allowed to happen this time.

I know the Taoiseach and the Minister of State are meeting the representatives of the Debenhams workers today and the Tánaiste met them earlier this week. The State should use every apparatus at its disposal, every possible loophole, to try to rescue the workers from this. Some of them are of an age and could be facilitated if a task force was set up to provide alternative work for them. However, others have given a lifetime - 30 or 31 years - to one company. It is unrealistic to expect them to be in a positive, healthy position to be able to find gainful employment given the state of the retail market in Ireland now.

This is a small but important Bill. It only gestures towards some of the measures I am saying are absolutely required to ensure that never again will a company whose coffers are empty wind up leaving employees who have made a lifetime of contributions at the back of the queue of creditors. I would like to see that issue addressed in the term of this Government. Workers' rights should not be put at the bottom of the list when it comes to dealing with the debts of an insolvent company that has gone into liquidation or examinership.

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