Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The amendment I sought to make was on tactical insolvencies, an issue that has been raised by other Deputies. I take the point the Minister of State made about the Minister, and it is very good to have the Minister of State with direct delegated responsibility for this issue in the Chamber but it is not unusual for the Minister and the Minister of State to attend. My comments were directed at the Minister, who is not here. I fully respect that the Minister of State is here and that he is he very engaged, which is extremely welcome, but it is not unusual for the Minister and the Minister of State to attend together and it is unfortunate that, once again, the Tánaiste has not felt it was important enough to come to the Dáil to participate in a debate on his own legislation.

The amendment I tabled is on tactical insolvencies. We have had Clerys, TalkTalk and now Debenhams. Every time it happens people shrug their shoulders and say it is desperate and awful. Collectively, the Government and Opposition speak with one voice and say we cannot allow it to happen again. The Opposition brings forward Bills that would deal with it that get mired in procedure. Will the Minister of State commit to working with me and others who have an interest in progressing the legislation that reached Committee Stage in the previous Dáil? That Bill has been updated and is now extremely necessary. We cannot simply shrug our shoulders and say this should not be happening, that it is absolutely awful and that we cannot allow it to happen again but then somehow allow it to happen again.

While I have the floor, I want to say a word of thanks to all of the civil servants who have worked on this legislation. I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Troy, whether he would like to associate with or disassociate from the remarks made by his party colleague, Deputy MacSharry, that implied that during the lockdown civil and public servants were at home watching box sets and doing virtually no work.

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I think he used the word "lazy" and if he did not, I am happy to be corrected. However, on behalf of my party, I thank all the civil servants for the work they have done, as well as all the public services and agencies that are involved in producing complex legislation such as this and ensuring that the Houses of the Oireachtas function so we can be here today to debate this Bill. It was extremely disappointing but the Minister of State has an opportunity now either to associate or dissociate himself with the remarks of his colleague. That is important. We should not just head off into the recess with those words ringing in the ears of the men and women who work extremely hard in the civil and public service. The people who are around us today are outside their usual place of work and are here to facilitate the House being able to sit today. They have gone above and beyond to come here and are certainly not sitting around watching box sets or the like.

To return to the purpose of the amendment regarding tactical insolvencies, I would welcome a commitment from the Minister of State that we will be able to work together on the legislation Sinn Féin put forward in the last Dáil and which was supported by his party.

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