Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Tánaiste for acknowledging his concern for the employees affected. We all share that concern. We are all thinking of the workers and their families who are awaiting the news as to who will be affected by the announcement from Meta. The question for the Government is what to do next in the context of a massive budget surplus. Certainly kite flying from Ministers in the Tánaiste's partner party in government has not been helpful to people now looking for certainty as to what sort of protections will be in place and what measures will be adopted by the Government in the forthcoming budget.

The reality is that workers' rights were not important enough for the Government to get a stand-alone section in the programme for Government. Now we are seeing workers being left without the right to have recognition for their trade union representatives in the context of collective redundancies. I call on the Tánaiste to commit the Government to enshrining a right to organise and to collective bargaining, along with heeding the calls from ICTU by paying apprentices and minimum wage workers a living wage. These are important calls on which we are seeking a collective response from all parties in government in light of the redundancy announcement yesterday.

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