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

I accept the Deputy has consistently raised this. He said that no one ever said it would not be difficult. I beg to differ; the Deputy has always suggested it would be very easy. From the get-go he suggested to the workers and everybody that this is easy and can be solved by Government doing X, Y and Z.

Deputy Barry has been suggesting that it is an easy thing to fix. It is not as easy as that. I have never said that. I have always said it is going to be challenging and very difficult. I respect the workers for the stance they have taken. I also respect the Deputy for the fact that he has consistently raised their case. We are going to see, with other colleagues in government, whether we can engineer some response here. It is extremely challenging and difficult. It is not a question of simply saying that whatever the State is owed in the liquidation can be taken out and given to the redundancy pot. That has wide-ranging implications and, deep down, the Deputy must know that.

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