Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The report did not make specific proposals for changes to the Companies Act 2014; rather its proposals were primarily concerned with amendments to employment law and the company law review group has considered options in respect of company law. The Tánaiste has asked it to do so now with a view to protecting the rights of workers where collective agreements have been arrived at. Clearly there has been a breach of a collective redundancy agreement here by the company, which is in liquidation. The parent company was in examinership but I believe it is now in liquidation and did not want to know about, nor did the examiner, releasing any resources to honour the company’s commitment to the workers in Ireland. Passing the law now would not help the workers in Debenhams right now but will would have an impact in the future, which I acknowledge. The review that was asked for will be ready in the fourth quarter of this year. It will be a Government priority to work on that and to bring about changes on that issue.

The Companies Act 2014 needs to be reviewed, for example, to address the practice of companies splitting their operations between trading and property, as we discussed earlier, as well as examining legal provisions that pertain to any sale to a connected party following the insolvency of a company. That is one dimension to this. What should happen is that dialogue should resume between representatives of the key parties and stakeholders here to see if a package can be arrived at through the liquidation process or if resources from that can be allocated to workers. I do not get the sense that it can ever be of the same scale as what they had agreed with the company in the redundancy agreement but one route among a number is that particular one, which should be pursued again. The liquidator should re-engage and resile from any actions that further inflame the situation and make a resolution more intractable in the coming weeks and months.

The workers have been on the picket lines for far too long. It is very difficult for them and their families. This needs to be brought to some resolution so that they can recreate their lives as best they can in a very difficult situation.

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