Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Joint provisional liquidators have been appointed by the High Court to the four Irish operating companies that are part of the UK fashion group Arcadia. It is a real worry for the workers in all of these stores, who are in danger of losing their jobs. I fully appreciate, as do the Government and the Department, how difficult this is for those involved and their families, not least at this time of year and given the difficult year it has been with Covid-19. This is not the news they wanted. We all know about the pressure on the retail sector, along with other sectors, but we remain hopeful that we can minimise the number of job losses in that sector as a whole in the months ahead. That will be the aim of the Government, without a doubt.

While these are worrying times and this is worrying news, it is hoped to procure the sale of the Irish operations as part of an overall sale of the Arcadia group and that the Irish stores will continue to trade through Christmas in order to maximise the value of the stock. I accept that this will be very difficult for the employees, who are turning up every day to work long, hard hours without knowing the long-term status of their jobs. There is a hope, shared by everybody, that a buyer will be found for these shops and businesses to keep these jobs alive. The Government hopes a suitable and sustainable buyer can be found and that any potential job losses can be avoided. Beyond this, it is difficult to comment on specifics just yet, given that the matter is before the courts and, as such, is sub judice. The process is still at a fairly early stage.

The Protection of Employment Act 1977 imposes obligations on employers that propose collective redundancies, including obligations to engage in an information and consultation process with employees’ representatives and to provide certain information relating to the proposed redundancies. Where an employee believes the employer to be in breach of those obligations, he or she may pursue a complaint with the Workplace Relations Commission. There is also an obligation on employers proposing a collective redundancy to notify the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. I am advised that, up to yesterday evening, no notification had been received.

It is the responsibility of the employer in the first instance to pay statutory redundancy and other wage-related entitlements to employees. However, the Social Insurance Fund provides a safety net for employees to ensure they receive statutory entitlements in circumstances where the employer cannot pay due to insolvency. This issue was raised in the House in the context of other companies as well. The State steps in to cover all statutory entitlements, whether redundancy, due wages, holiday pay and so on. Where the compensation goes beyond that in regard to further arrangements with employees in respect of collective agreements and greater entitlements, it is generally a private arrangement with the company. The State does not guarantee such agreements and is not in a position to do so. Entitlements covered under the insolvency payments scheme include arrears of wages, holiday pay and sick pay. In all the previous cases that were mentioned, the State paid out and always does, because that is what a State guarantee is about and that is what the Social Insurance Fund is there to do. One hopes that will not be needed in this case and that the fund will not be drawn on. To reiterate, there has as yet been no formal application.

High-street retailers have been under pressure for some time and Covid-19 has challenged the sector further. The Government is working in a co-ordinated way and has committed unprecedented levels of financial supports to help businesses through these difficult times. We will of course work with the company in question and all companies to protect jobs and the sector. We know the importance of the retail sector and of the workers in that space. It employs more than 300,0000 people and many of them are highly skilled, with long careers in the sector. We want to develop that and to recognise those skills in a more formal way, but also to develop people's skills to deal with the challenges of the future. Retail is a challenging sector but there is a great deal of opportunity to sustain and create jobs in the sector if we make the right investments. The retail forum is held weekly to work with the sector to try to secure its future long term because it is a massive employer.

Reference was made to Mayo. The regional spread of jobs in the retail sector is well recognised and of utmost importance to the Government. We will do everything we can to protect jobs in this space. The expectation is that a buyer will be found in this case. We also hope that a purchaser will also be found in the UK to protect the jobs in the parent company.

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