Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I commend Deputy Barry on bringing forward this Bill. The way the Debenhams workers have been treated in the past year has been absolutely outrageous. These workers were first abandoned by their employers and then failed by the State. We have had enough of tea and sympathy. What they need now is action. These workers have given years of service to the company. They had to stand outside their former place of employment for months in the rain, hail and cold but still there is nothing. Not only have they had to battle the elements, they literally put their lives on the line by battling through a global pandemic. Once again, the powers that be simply do not care. One worker told me that this impacted on all aspects of his life. It has taken over the past year of his life and become all-consuming. It is high time we valued workers in this State and gave them the protections they need and deserve.

The Debenhams workers have made clear they do not want any other workers to be put in the position they have been in for the past 400 days. They have worked hard all their lives. We saw from the scenes of recent weeks that they are being treated like criminals.

Let us be clear. Working people have made this country. The worst thing about all of this is that it is not new. We have been here before and we have had this discussion and debate. We have even had the recommendations of the Duffy Cahill report, but still there is nothing. We need to remember that this is having a real-life impact on people. We can talk in this room and we may say this has nothing to do with us but it has a real-life impact.

Many of the 140 people who lost their jobs in Galway had served the company for more than 30 years. Collectively, these workers served over 300 years at the company. After that length of time, they saw themselves as family. I applaud them for their persistence and express solidarity with them. They have fought hard this year and have suffered greatly. Their legacy is that this Bill should go through. They are standing up for all future workers and those who go through a liquidation. That is one legacy they can be damn proud of. I call on the Minister of State to support them in this.

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