Derek Keating (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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How long have I got?

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Each Deputy has two minutes - six minutes in total.

Derek Keating (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for giving me the opportunity to speak about a very important topical issue. I represent Dublin Mid-West, which includes Lucan, Clondalkin, Rathcoole, Palmerstown and Saggart. Liffey Valley Shopping Centre is central in that constituency and contains HMV, which is a major employer and outlet, at least up until this week. I am very concerned for the overall welfare of the 300 employees of HMV Ireland and specifically the 16 employees in Liffey Valley Shopping Centre in Dublin Mid-West.

I am aware that they have not been paid their Christmas salary on which they are depending. They were due to get five to six weeks' salary, including overtime. I am outraged that this money has not been paid. I learned today that the management instructed the employees not to open the stores and that the employees were effectively made redundant without notice. When inquiries were made by employees as to the status of their salaries, they were told that they would not be paid but that some arrangement could be sorted out in the meantime as HMV had an entitlement with the Irish Government.

That is some attitude from an international outlet. I am very unhappy about this. This company had full knowledge of the difficulties it was about to encounter for quite some time and yet until last Sunday it continued to trade and indeed sold gift vouchers to customers. I contend that it knew full well the difficulties it was encountering and that the staff would lose their jobs. Vouchers are not just for Christmas but are valid for a period extending beyond that.

I have some questions for the Minister for State in the short time I have. What contact has been made with Deloitte in respect of HMV and the employees' wages? What can be done by the Department and is there any legal comeback regarding the entitlement of thousands of customers whose gift vouchers the stores have refused to cash in?

Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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The Deputy's time is up.

Derek Keating (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I will finish. What can the Minister do in terms of legislation and does he agree that legislation is required to protect Ireland's customers?

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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HMV is a British-owned multinational and yesterday, its Irish section, HMV Ireland, closed its doors declaring it was in receivership. This has left over 300 staff in an intolerable position as regards their jobs and wages owed. It has also left an unknown number of ordinary people with gift vouchers which have been paid for but will not be honoured according to HMV. Staff are owed five weeks' wages, including a lot of overtime that was worked over Christmas.

This is almost an exact re-run of what happened at the La Senza lingerie chain last January when staff were left in exactly the same situation. It is fine for Government Deputies to be angry. The question is where are the measures that should have been implemented to ensure that employers and big chains cannot act in this way. Workers in Limerick have occupied HMV stores demanding their rights and they should be fully supported. Workers in Limerick say their shops are viable and there is great potential in other areas if there was a strategy to maintain jobs and develop the activities in which the company was engaged. The State or local public agencies should therefore take ownership of this chain and with the staff, work out a plan to develop it, honour the vouchers for which ordinary people have paid and, in particular, maintain the jobs. Workers in occupation should be supported but, disgracefully, when workers in Thomas Cook Tours occupied premises to demand their rights, the doors of that company were bludgeoned by the gardaí and these workers were dragged in front of the courts so we want immunity for workers who occupy to defend their rights in front of powerful multinationals acting disgracefully.

Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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The Deputy's time is up.

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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We all know companies can run into trouble and be forced into difficult decisions but HMV also has a duty of care to its staff and customers. It has failed miserably in that duty of care. It remains to be seen whether HMV Ireland has even been acting within the law. Its actions on Tuesday, 15 January when it opened for business but refused to accept gift vouchers even though it was not in receivership on that day would seem to be a clear breach of trading standards and should be investigated. Reneging on vouchers, be it due to trading difficulties or arbitrarily imposed deadlines, needs to be addressed and I intend to raise this issue again shortly. For now, our primary concern must be the staff of HMV. Their treatment has, quite frankly, been appalling. Their safety was put at risk when they were told to tell irate customers that they could not honour gift vouchers or offer refunds. On Tuesday evening, Irish staff were told in a conference call with Deloitte in the UK that their jobs were secure for the immediate future but by Wednesday morning, that commitment was in tatters. Now the company cannot even say whether staff will be paid this Friday for the previous month's work. Staff hired on a temporary basis in the run up to Christmas have already been told that they will probably not be paid. This is an appalling way to treat staff and simply cannot be tolerated. The response so far from HMV and from the receivers has been shambolic.

They must be brought to account and staff must be treated fairly and with dignity.

John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputies for raising this important issue. I share their concern about situation in HMV Ireland Ltd., including in particular the position of employees in the company's Irish stores and consumers who hold unredeemed gift vouchers. The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation regrets that he cannot be here as he is attending a Cabinet meeting.

It was announced on Monday, 14 January 2013 that HMV in the UK would be put into administration, which is an insolvency process in the UK. The HMV stores in Ireland are operated by a separate legal entity, HMV Ireland Ltd. The Minister was informed that the Irish operation was put into receivership yesterday. The Irish receiver has indicated that he intends to seek a buyer for all or part of the business in Ireland. While I hope these efforts prove successful, at this point the future of the business is a matter for the receiver and any potential purchaser.

The Minister is aware that workers at HMV stores in Limerick began a sit-in yesterday and understands their concerns about the closure of the shops and the uncertainty they face. At his request and in an effort to allay their fears regarding unpaid wages and redundancy payments, officials from NERA were in contact last night with workers involved in the sit-in to provide advice on their employment rights. In situations in which an employer is insolvent and as a result defaults on payment of wages, the employees are protected by legislation. If the employer is unable to pay wages or redundancy payments, the employees are entitled to apply to the Department of Social Protection for payment of the amounts due from the employer. NERA is fully briefed on the situation and stands ready to provide all HMV workers with support and advice on their employment rights. My Department has opened a direct line of contact with the receiver, who has indicated that communicating with staff is a priority and to this end sent two staff to each location yesterday afternoon. It is clear that the receiver, having been appointed at 3 p.m. yesterday, is gathering all financial information relevant to the Irish operation and assessing the position. The receiver has indicated that he is making every effort to secure a purchaser for the stores. HMV in Ireland was not in receipt of supports from the State's enterprise agencies.

It is my hope that jobs can be saved. In the event of any redundancies arising, all the supports of the State will be made available. The employees should be aware that their employment rights are protected by a wide variety of legislation. The Protection of Employment Acts 1977 to 2007 require an employer to engage in a 30-day consultation period with employees in collective redundancy situations. The Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act 1973 requires employers to give employees notice of termination of employment or to pay employees in lieu of notice. The length of notice depends on the length of service.

Where an employer is insolvent and as a result defaults on payment of wages, the employees are entitled to seek payment from the State through the insolvency payments scheme administered by the Department of Social Protection. The employees may be entitled to payment from this fund in respect of holiday pay, outstanding pay and minimum notice, among other entitlements. Entitlements are limited to a maximum weekly rate of €600 and there is a limit of eight weeks of arrears of pay, sick pay or holiday pay. Claims are made through the person legally appointed to wind up the company. Where a redundancy claim is submitted electronically, the processing of the redundancy claim is prioritised by the Department of Social Protection and payment can be expected after approximately eight weeks. Moneys owed up to the appointment of a receiver are secured by the Social Insurance Fund. For moneys owed and earned after the appointment, a claim may be made to a rights commissioner, who will adjudicate on the case.

The issue of temporary lay-off is covered by the Redundancy Payments Acts, which are administered by the Department of Social Protection. An employer can lay off an employee if it is permitted by the contract of employment or if it is custom and practice in the workplace. Otherwise, the agreement of the employee should be obtained. If an employee does not agree to lay-off, he or she may be made redundant. If the receiver succeeds in selling all or possibly part of the company as a going concern, most of the employees' terms and conditions of employment may be protected by the European Communities (Protection of Employees on Transfer of Undertakings) Regulations 2003.

In so far as the sale of gift vouchers is concerned, consumer protection law prohibits traders from engaging in unfair or misleading commercial practices. Traders who are involved in the sale of gift vouchers are required to ensure that they do not mislead consumers through the omission of material or false information with regard to the characteristics of the gift voucher being offered for sale. The purchase of gift vouchers gives rise to particular considerations and it is important, therefore, that consumers fully acquaint themselves with the particular characteristics of any gift voucher they purchase. In this regard the National Consumer Agency provides advice to consumers on the particular matters they should consider when purchasing gift vouchers or cards. Aside from general advice, the agency also issued a public statement in the run-up to Christmas urging consumers to use gift vouchers as quickly as possible so as to avoid any difficulties in the event that the retail outlet selling the voucher went out of business. As regards consumers who have used payment cards to purchase vouchers from retailers that cease trading, the agency advises them to contact their card issuer to ascertain whether the charge-back rule of the payment card company can be invoked to recover the amount spent on the gift voucher. The agency's full advice and public statements on the purchase of gift vouchers can be obtained from its website.

Derek Keating (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Minister of State pointed out that traders involved in the sale of gift vouchers are required to ensure they do not mislead consumers. I would contend that is exactly what HMV did. Clearly it was fully aware of the difficulties it was experiencing for a number of months, but it continued to sell gift vouchers as recently as last Sunday. Customers need more than advice from the National Consumer Agency in this situation. I ask the Minister of State's opinion on whether new legislation is required. I do not think the support being offered at present is sufficient.

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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I utterly condemn the actions of HMV in regard to the treatment of staff and demand that their rights be upheld. The script supplied by the Minister of State contains the following statement which he did not have time to read:

The retail and wholesale sector employs over 250,000 people in Ireland - that is almost 15% of our total workforce. The sector suffered heavy job losses throughout the recession, shedding over 55,000 jobs since 2008.

More than 300 jobs are at risk. The infrastructure should be taken into public ownership and control and developed as a viable enterprise which would bring workers to the heart of management. This would maintain their jobs and honour the various obligations that the company entered into in respect of vouchers.

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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The Minister of State noted that the receiver is communicating with staff. I regard that as an insult to the staff with whom I have spoken today. I acknowledge that the receiver's representatives have visited stores across the country, but that was to change the locks and codes, not to advise staff as to their rights.

That is something entirely different. The Minister of State's response offers little to console staff or consumers with outstanding vouchers they want to cash. I understand the Consumer Protection Act 2007 has been reviewed. In the context of that review, is the Minister aware of any reference made to strengthening the rights of consumers who hold vouchers in circumstances like this? I agree with Deputy Keating and others that legislation should be introduced or existing legislation should be amended, whether that be the recently published Companies Bill or the Consumer Protection Act, to reflect the need for vouchers that have been paid for to be cashed and used.

John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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I will not delay on this. With regard to the company selling gift vouchers in the busy Christmas period, consumers holding unredeemed vouchers who are concerned that the company may have engaged in reckless trading in continuing to sell gift vouchers in the knowledge that, because of the company's financial trading position, these would not be honoured, may wish to bring their concerns to the attention of the receiver. The point the Deputy is making is that this should be investigated.

The Minister, Deputy Bruton, has said that the Department has been in contact with the receiver, who was appointed yesterday. Under the provisions of State statutory entitlements, up to €600 per week may be claimed for up to eight weeks. Therefore, there is significant protection through company law with regard to the entitlement of consumers.

Derek Keating (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Is new legislation needed?

John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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I am talking about existing legislation. We could not introduce new legislation that would be retrospective. There is confusion with regard to whether gift vouchers should be honoured since the company went into receivership on 15 January. It is important to put on the record that with regard to HMV Ireland, the National Consumer Agency issued a public statement at 9.15 a.m. on 16 January in which it noted that HMV Ireland was a separate entity and was not covered by the administration of the UK company. The agency queried the basis on which the Irish company refused to honour consumers' gift vouchers, given the Irish company was continuing to trade at that stage and was not under the protection of the administration or examinership process. The agency called on the company to honour the customer gift vouchers. HMV Ireland subsequently went into receivership on 16 January.

The issue of honouring gift vouchers is a matter that should be addressed to the receiver, who has stated that it is his intention to institute an assessment of the viability of the Irish stores and to make every effort to secure a purchaser for the store. It is disappointing that a gift voucher is now like an unsecured creditor. However, I hope the receiver appointed will succeed in his intention to sell the store as a going concern. Deputy Higgins made the point that this will be difficult due to the nature of the business and the change in technology relating to it. It is a difficult business to be in and it is not as a result of austerity that the business has trading difficulties.