Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Independent Group, I also join with the Ceann Comhairle in thanking the staff of the Houses for their facilitation over the course of the term.

As the Tánaiste will know, several Iceland stores across Ireland have been closed, including the Letterkenny store in my own constituency, after its parent company went into examinership. I welcome here today seven workers from Iceland and their union representative from the Independent Workers Union. I am horrified to learn how the workers have been treated in recent weeks and I express my solidarity with them who have had to endure an extremely difficult couple of weeks with no support or communication from their employers. It is absolutely disgraceful. There have been reports that the company has unilaterally changed its employees' terms and conditions and that some of the workers have still not been paid.

Last month, all imported frozen food of animal origin was very quickly withdrawn from the shelves following a recall under the Food Safety Authority of Ireland. Yet, when it comes to looking after the rights of workers, we have been very slow to intervene. This is the last day before the recess so this matter needs to be addressed urgently. More than 400 workers are left without wages due to them, including holiday and redundancy pay. Surely, the Tánaiste will agree that this is unacceptable. How will the Tánaiste assist the Iceland workers and how will he ensure all the workers will be paid as soon as possible?

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