Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I express my full solidarity and support for the workers who are staging sit-ins in Coolock and Talbot Street, and indeed all the Iceland workers. The issue here is that low-paid workers are the backbone of companies like Iceland and they simply cannot afford not to have the wages owed to them paid in a timely manner. One worker is owed almost €1,000. Workers have bills to pay and families to feed now, so an elongated process simply will not work for them. The Taoiseach said yesterday that the law might need to be strengthened to protect workers against wage theft. Does the Minister of State agree the law needs to be strengthened in this area to protect workers? What will he do to protect workers in the here and now who are struggling and have wages due to them now that need to be paid?

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