Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Government, I congratulate John on his retirement and thank him for his wonderful service down the years. It has been great to have him looking after us and watching out for us ever since I have been a Teachta Dála. We wish him and his family the very best in his retirement and thank him so much.

The Debenhams issue is a matter before the courts. Of course I would condemn any breach of any court order or written assurance. I have not seen such a written assurance - I have to add that caveat - but if one has been broken, any right-thinking person would condemn the breach of a court order or a written assurance offered in good faith. There is regular engagement with the unions, with Mandate, as recently as Monday, I think. Ministers have met the union, and I have been in direct contact with Debenhams UK, which, as the House will be aware, was the parent company but which has largely walked away at this stage. As for any engagement between the Government and KPMG, it should be borne in mind that this is a liquidation process, a court-sponsored process, and there are limitations to the extent to which the Government can intervene in a court process.

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