Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is in the speaking note and in the supplementary note too. There was some confusion on that matter. The receiver clarified the issue with Roadbridge employees on 15 March that provided they do not resign from the current employment there is no statutory restriction on employees taking up additional employment during the 30-day consultation period in circumstances where they are not expected to attend the workplace. Those are the two caveats: if one is not expected to attend the workplace and also that one does not resign from one's current job.

The Government is now working in a co-ordinated way to assist the workers in terms of employee supports. The receiver issued a clarification on 15 March which should at least ease the fear of workers and provide assurance that the State will provide appropriate supports to them. The Intreo services of the Department of Social Protection will proactively help them to assess opportunities available for employment or appropriate training and development options. The concerns expressed by the Deputies about sub-suppliers and subcontractors are very real. The Department does not know yet the exact scale of the debt problem in Roadbridge but it could be significant. It may be that the only route for recovery is through the normal insolvency and receivership process. It may be, therefore, that certain major construction projects will suffer delays if such projects need to be retendered. However, the Minister and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment are working across Government, including with the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications and the Department of Transport to examine what options are available with regard to how these projects might be progressed.

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