Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

The following are the words of Mayo-based Tesco security worker Keith Leonard after 100 of the company's security officers were outsourced to OCS with just a couple of weeks' notice:

I have been spat at, threatened and beat up for this company over the last 16 years. Then on Tuesday, on my day off, the company called me to tell me my job is gone. It is upsetting and disrespectful and we all deserve so much better. How do I look my family in the eye when the mortgage company comes to take our home because Tesco took my livelihood away?

Workers like Keith were the heroes of the pandemic but look at how they are being treated now. Meanwhile, companies like Tesco did very well from the crisis. It increased its revenue by more than £1 billion from stores in the Republic of Ireland and the UK in the 2020-21 financial year. What steps does the Taoiseach intend to take to stop this gross injustice and other gross injustices of its kind from taking place on his watch?

See this speech in context