Dáil debates

Thursday, 17 December 2020

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions

Employment Rights

10:40 am

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

What the workers will get is what they deserve, which is solidarity, support and total honesty. They may not get that from others. We will do the best we can to secure as many of the 500 jobs as possible and keep as many of the stores open as possible. We will engage with the union and, to the extent that we can, with the liquidator on that. As a Government we will ensure that the legal entitlements and rights of the workers are honoured but we will be honest in saying that they have the same set of rights as every other worker. There cannot be special or extra rights for some workers over others. All we can honour is what is set out in the law.

Retail is changing. People who have money in their pocket are now spending it online. For the first time in Ireland, more money is spent online than physically. The pandemic has accelerated a change that was happening anyway. That means we will need fewer people working in the shop in retail but we will need more in other areas such as distribution, for example, and warehousing. That is why we are willing to provide training and educational opportunities to ensure people can retrain for new jobs because there will be jobs in other sectors.

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