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

The programme for Government refers to the need to address the issues that arise out of cases similar to the Debenhams case and to protect workers who have been impacted during Covid. Earlier, the Taoiseach effectively refused to answer the question Deputy Barry put to him. That question, by the way, came directly from the shop stewards and they want to know his answer because it is very important facing into the next number of weeks. They want to know if the Taoiseach will state clearly that the removal of goods by KPMG from a retail outlet over the next six weeks would breach public health guidelines. The Taoiseach needs to be explicit. KPMG need to hear that that is the case so that the workers do not have to worry during the imminent period of level 5 restrictions about round the clock picketing to prevent the removal of those goods. Will the Taoiseach state that in order to be clear? To me it is obviously the case but there needs to be no ambiguity from the point of view of the workers or KPMG.

Second, will the Taoiseach commit, as I, together with Deputies Barry, McDonald and so on have asked, to convene a meeting with KPMG, the shop stewards, and the unions to try to resolve this dispute and save 1,000 mostly women workers yet more hardship, uncertainty and anxiety? Will he use his offices to try to resolve this in a just way? The Taoiseach should do this for their sake. The least he could do is organise a meeting of that sort.

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