Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

It is long past time for action on this. We now face the prospect that ordinary working people - most of whom are women - who are not criminals and should not be criminalised, and have worked long, hard and loyally for Debenhams and have been treated despicably, could end up in jail. The Taoiseach needs to act urgently to prevent that. He should be under no illusion. They will hold this Government and previous Governments responsible for their plight because the failure to address all of these issues after Clerys is the reason they are in this mess now. The Government better take that responsibility.

Can the Government instruct the liquidators? Kieran Wallace said that unless the State voluntarily instructs the liquidators to allocate supplementary cash to the workers nothing can be done. The State can do it. The proof of that is that it offered them €1 million, a pathetic figure. Where did it come from? How could it offer the workers €1 million? If it can offer them €1 million it can offer them the €10 million necessary to give them the two plus two, and then the Government and Revenue can chase the company for the assets they are clearly hiding using accounting tricks. The Government can do it.

I ask the Taoiseach to join me publicly in saying that no truck driver or worker should cross the pickets of Debenhams. Then they will not have to defy an injunction. If workers do not cross the pickets, there is no injunction defiance. Will the Taoiseach convene a meeting with the shop stewards, unions, KPMG and the Government to discuss a resolution?

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