Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday, I was with the Iceland workers in Talbot Street. They turned up for work on Monday morning only to be told that they had been sacked and that the shop is closing. They are owed wages and holiday pay and have no idea when they are going to get either. The examinership process is under way, but it is not acceptable that they have been left in limbo while workers in other stores do not know if they will have a job this time next week. Some of the shops have closed and some are still operating. In some cases, workers have been left with only partial wages. These are low-paid workers. We have listened to much chat about high earners getting top-ups on their extremely high wages. These are workers on very modest wages, and they cannot even get those paid.

The Minister met with the management of Iceland. I ask that another meeting be convened or that some form of contact be made with the management in order that the workers can get some sort of clarity as to when they are going to get their wages. These are people who live very much from hand to mouth. They do not have savings to dip into and they certainly do not have anyone coming over the hill with a big top-up for them.

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