Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this issue. It is not new and the matter has been ongoing for two years. It involves 12 families in the town I am privileged and honoured to serve, Clonakilty. Two years ago, Hood Textiles, a factory in the town, closed without any notice. On that day, the 12 workers turned up for work and found the doors locked, and from that day to this, those people and their families have been trying to get what is owed to them. To add further injury to the injustice of the 12 workers, the company is in receivership but has not been liquidated. If it had been liquidated, the workers would enjoy the same rights as any other worker who has been unfortunate enough to lose a job. The 12 families have not just experienced the terrible trauma of having their livelihood terminated without any notice, with a lock placed across the door, but the further injury is that the 12 families feel a double grievance because they are owed money by the employer for holiday pay and other terms and conditions that all workers enjoy.

There was a recent, very high profile case in Dublin involving 500 workers at Clerys but I argue that the 12 workers in Clonakilty are every bit as valuable to the community and their families are equally impacted. There were no cameras or headlines for the 12 families to assist them or promises of Government action but I have been doing my duty as a public representative over the two years and met those people numerous times. They do not have the financial resources to take the legal steps, although they have engaged at some level legally. They do not have the resources to take a case like this to the High Court to get justice.

I have raised the matter with the Minister and the Department for two years through parliamentary questions and correspondence but I have been getting the same answer. I have been told that a review is taking place and it is expected to end shortly. The families are getting tired and fed up, as they have lost their livelihood, which is difficult to take. There is a further loss and grievance as the Government and the State are also turning their backs as well.

They now regret that they did not do what many other workers did and stage a sit-in, commanding the attention of the State and the media, at the time. They took the hit very gracefully and did what they could themselves. I have done my bit for them but I am reaching an end point now. We owe it to these 12 families, and this is not just about those 12 families in Clonakilty. There are numerous other families the length and breadth of this country who have had the misfortune to lose their job and to have this grievance added to it. I look forward to the Minister of State outlining any plans to complete that review so we can finally get justice for these 12 families and all the other families in the country as well.

Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I thank Deputy Daly for raising the issue of the review of the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) Act. I have circulated a response but I would rather have a conversation with him than read a scripted response on this. As a member of a trade union for many years, I understand the Deputy's and the families' frustration at not being able to get the repayment that I also believe they are entitled to. The response outlines the legislation we are working through. I will not read it for the Deputy because it might be a bit insulting as he has been arguing this point very strongly for the last two years and there is a level of frustration.

I reassure him that my Department has been reviewing the situation. It has been consulting with a range of interested parties, including the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement; the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation; and the Revenue Commissioners to establish what, if anything, can be done to progress payments to individuals in this situation. To date, officials from the Department have had one formal meeting with various parties mentioned above in connection with the issues and it continues to engage with relevant parties to try and progress the matter. Given the difficult legal issues that need to be addressed, I am not in a position to indicate when this review will be completed. However, I will take this up.

Deputy Daly has articulated very clearly his concern for these 12 families and many other families and I will be happy to meet with him to see if we can progress this further. The finishing line for this Government is early next year and I believe the Deputy is anxious that we are able to resolve it for these families and many others. I am happy to sit down with him and my officials, give him an up-to-date report and see whether we can make progress on this very important issue. I was not aware that the Deputy was going to raise the individual case. If I was, I would have come much better prepared to respond to the situation of those people in Deputy Daly's constituency and many more who are caught in that situation.

It is a very complicated situation in respect of legislation. There are many Acts involved, as illustrated in the circulated response. Deputy Daly is correct in raising the issue today. Let us see whether we can work together over the next five months to bring this to a speedy resolution. I thank him for raising an important issue. Sometimes members of the public believe that those who shout loudest get the most, but we must ensure that everybody is treated equally, whether the television cameras are on the case or not. These 12 families are as important as those who were affected by what happened with Clerys and I am happy that we can work out a resolution in some way to speed up the case.

Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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I am very disappointed with the response because it is the same one I have been getting and the Department has all the details of the case I have been raising. It is exactly the same response I have been getting for two years. If I am frustrated, the Minister of State can imagine how frustrated the 12 families are. Notwithstanding that, I appreciate his sincerity and I know he is very genuine in his response. I appreciate that and it gives me a great deal of comfort. I appreciate that there are difficulties in moving this on and there are many different Acts but, as one of the family members said to me, this review is going on so long and there is nothing there for us: how long does it take to review nothing twice?

I will take the Minister of State up on his offer. I will meet with him and his officials in the coming weeks and we will try to progress this not just for the 12 families in Clonakilty, who are my paramount concern, but also because there is an equality issue here. What I appreciate most is that the Minister of State grasped this. Every citizen is entitled to equal dignity and for the State to shine the same light on them. That is what is at issue here above and beyond everything else. The trauma of losing one's livelihood is so severe and so difficult, but then to feel one is treated unequally in the eyes of the State and not afforded the same attention when the media takes such an interest in the conditions of others who are in the same position compounds that. I thank the Minister of State for his offer, which I will take up, and I thank the Chair for allowing me to raise this issue in the Dáil. I look forward to making progress with the Minister of State and his officials in the Department.

Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I will be in touch with the Deputy in the coming weeks to organise that. He can brief his 12 families on this. There is nothing more shocking and upsetting than to lose one's job. Getting the redundancy payment and holiday benefits to which one is entitled can sometimes help to alleviate the financial problems, but there is nothing worse than when a company becomes insolvent and then one cannot get one's holiday payments, statutory notice or redundancy settlement. I can very much understand the frustration felt by the 12 families in Clonakilty and by other families that have gone through this. Let us sit down and see where the blockages are in respect of the review. I assure the Deputy that the officials in my Department take this very seriously. It is not just in high visibility cases such as Clerys that this has an impact. We will work together. I am aware that we have a finishing line. Deputy Daly is as anxious as I am to make sure issues like this are resolved before we face an election next March and I will work with him to get a resolution to the issue.