Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday, the Government circulated a list of priority legislation for the spring session. There is not a single Bill in that list to deal with workers' rights, despite the massive challenges faced by workers throughout the country. Notable by its absence was any attempt to deal with the Duffy Cahill report. In addition, yesterday the Debenhams workers voted by 91% to reject the proposal from Mr. Kevin Foley to put €3 million into a retraining fund. They are asking the Government and all bodies involved in this, including the trade unions, to press for that €3 million to be put into cash as part payment for a just settlement where their redundancy entitlements have been denied to them.

There is great concern among the Debenhams workers about KPMG's attempts to remove the stock during the pandemic restrictions. It is unacceptable that non-essential work such as stock removal should be carried out. Can the Tánaiste give a guarantee that the Government will transfer that €3 million fund into cash and that KPMG will not be allowed to move the stock?

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