Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, United Left)
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While there is much fanfair about job creation and the CSO figures, I raise this issue because people are facing the loss of permanent jobs that have good conditions, including holiday pay, entitlements, pension rights and everything that goes with those. This involves 530 employees in Xtra-vision, 1,000 workers in Tesco who were told that they had contracts that could be ripped up, and workers who were contracted to work for the ESB as meter readers for the past 50 years. That contract was sent out to tender and following that tendering process the contract was won and the workers who had a contract with the ESB were told that they can work for the companies that won the contract for half their pay.

Seemingly, Xtra-vision had Xtra-vision-HMV and in 2013 it set up another company, Xtra-vision-Entertainment. We saw that happen with Clerys and with other companies such as Connolly's Shoes, Paris Bakery and La Senza, where the workers had to lock themselves into a branch of the chain to get their proper payments. Xtra-vision has done the same thing and left its workers high and dry. The workers were told last November that they would get redundancy payments last week but on Tuesday we were told that the whole company is winding up and liquidators - some 166 - were sent in to wind down the company. Those workers were left with nothing; they were given no holiday pay and no redundancy. They have mortgages to pay and families to feed and they have been given nothing. The State in terms of the taxpayer will have to pick up this bill. The 1,000 workers in Tesco have decent contracts and they are supported by the Mandate union. Were it not for the fact that this union is strong in Tesco, those workers would be facing dire consequences. They have been told they will be lose their overtime, morning pay allowance, shift allowance, etc.

John Douglas from Mandate, who appeared before an Oireachtas committee in 2013, said that unless directors are held responsible for what they do in regard to workers' rights, this will continue. We have seen that it has continued. What will the Minister do about directors who come into the country, set up shelf companies and use them to strip the assets of the company and then tell the workers they are not entitled to anything? The collective bargaining legislation is not strong enough when it comes to defending workers' rights. We on this side of the House called for such legislation to provide that unions should have a right of access to their members. We have been told by the workers that on notice boards in Tesco the notices from the union have been taken down and that the union can only talk to its members in the car parks.

This has to stop. It is a shame that this Government has done nothing about this over the past five years when there were plenty of opportunities to do so. We have seen too much of that happening, and it is still going on.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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It must be said that any situation where people are losing their job is something that is not welcome. We have worked very hard to minimise the number of job losses and I am glad to say that we have got job losses here to the lowest ever number in the history of both IDA and Enterprise Ireland.

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, United Left)
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These are good jobs.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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We have managed to reduce job loss levels but that is not to say that any job loss is very difficult for the families involved, and my sympathy is with the families involved in this situation.

It is also a reminder to us that we are working in a very difficult environment where changes in the economic environment impact on companies. We all know that patterns of usage in the video rental area have changed dramatically, and this company has gone into liquidation as has happened. It has the protection of the State and I can assure the Deputy that we will make all the resources of the State available to support the people who have been displaced from their jobs.

In a situation such as this, where a redundancy is concerned, there is a body of Irish employment legislation where there are significant protections afforded to employees whose employers are insolvent in the event that the employer defaults on payments of wages and other entitlements. These rights are mainly contained in the Protection of Employees (Employers' Insolvency) Act 1984 and the Redundancy Payments Act, which are administered by my colleague, the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection.

The purpose of the insolvency payments regime, which operates under the Protection of Employees (Employers' Insolvency) Act 1984, is to protect certain outstanding pay-related entitlements due to employees in the event of insolvency of their employer. In situations such as Xtra-vision, where a liquidator has been appointed, in the event that the employer is unable to pay the employees their statutory redundancy and other entitlements, a claim may be made on the Department of Social Protection.

In the first instance the staff of Xtra-vision who have lost their jobs as a result of the closure should contact the liquidator to ensure they receive their statutory redundancy and wage-related payments. The person legally appointed to wind up the company certifies the employees' redundancy and insolvency claims from the records available and sends the claims to the redundancy payments section of the Department of Social Protection. The Workplace Relations Commission customer service and information unit was made available to provide information to the concerned staff.

As regards the position in Tesco, it should be noted that the terms of a contract are a matter for agreement between the parties to the contract. Section 3 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 sets out what terms in an employment contract must be put in writing. Section 5 of the Act further provides that when a change is made or occurs in any part of the contract furnished by an employer, the employer shall notify the employee in writing of the nature and date of the change as soon as may be. It is our understanding that Tesco is engaging with trade unions about proposed changes to the contracts in question, including the issue of compensation for affected employees. The State's industrial relations machinery is available to assist, if required.

Anyone with concerns regarding employment rights can contact the Workplace Relations Commission customer service and information unit, which provides information on employment equality and industrial relations legislation. It can be contacted at lo-call 1890 80 80 90 or via its website www.workplacerelations.ie.

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, United Left)
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I am sure the bosses are quaking in their boots after hearing that reply from the Minister. He made a point about sympathy. Workers do not want tea and sympathy, they want their jobs. They want to be able to pay their mortgages. They want to be able to pay for food to be put on the table over the coming weeks. Xtra-vision gave no prior notice except to a small group of workers and it then reneged on that deal last Tuesday.

I spoke to a young woman who has already had a mortgage payment taken from her wages. She got paid for the work she did the week before last. She worked three days last week and did not get paid for them, is owed holiday pay and expected a redundancy payment from Xtra-vision. This company has set up a shelf company to allow it to renege on its responsibilities to its workers. That is happening all the time, and this Government has done nothing to protect those workers from that activity. These are rogue employers who, like Clerys, set up other shelf companies and then tell their workers that they have no rights and that they should apply for statutory redundancy.

I would like to know how much the insolvency fund has paid out in the past five years to workers who have been subjected to these conditions by their bosses.

The Minister made a point about legislation. The fact is that the collective bargaining legislation is not and was never going to be strong enough to take on rogue employers. Tesco is a profitable multinational company. Last week it called workers in and told them it would change their contracts. Only because there is a strong union involved, namely, Mandate, will the workers be protected in any way. However, they must go through a process. If the union had not been there, I have no doubt those workers would have been left high and dry. The Government has not lived up to its responsibility to bring in much stronger collective bargaining. As John Douglas stated when the appeared before the relevant Oireachtas committee, directors who do such things should be barred from being directors of other companies in the future. The situation will continue unless the new Government, which I hope will be a progressive Government of the left, is serious about tackling such issues. Will the Minister fast-track the process for Xtra-vision workers who are waiting for their statutory redundancies?

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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First, I totally reject the Deputy's complaints about the Government's record on worker protection. We twice increased the national minimum wage. We introduced protection for temporary agency workers. We restored the employment regulation orders, EROs and the registered employment agreements, REAs. We introduced collective bargaining legislation.

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, United Left)
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The employers are still able to get away with it.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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We have been very balanced in our approach and we have presided over a situation where 135,000 extra people are back at work. They are workers with decent pay. Contrary to what the Deputy said, 90% of all those jobs are full-time positions. In the past two years, all the jobs created are full time. Involuntary part-time working is declining rapidly in this country. The pay and conditions of those workers are very good. A total of 75% of the jobs are IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland jobs in strong sectors, such as financial services, with good conditions.

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, United Left)
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The jobs to which I refer are full-time jobs.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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In those cases where sectors are poorly organised, we have reinstated REAs and EROs to protect those workers. We have increased the national minimum wage twice. Deputies such as Deputy Joan Collins pretend that those are jobs created by schemes. The truth is that 94% of the jobs created in the past four years are jobs that are completely independently created.

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, United Left)
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I came in to talk about Xtra-vision.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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A total of 60,000 jobs are in export-oriented companies which have won new markets for this country and created opportunities for Irish workers. I take my hat off to the businesses and workers of this country that have responded to the challenges. I admit that there are sectors which still face challenges. The video distribution sector has had real problems. Occasionally, one has sectors that get into difficulties and workers become redundant but protections are in place - both in employment law and in the insolvency and redundancy funds - to meet their needs. We will respond as best we can to the needs of all of those workers in Xtra-vision to make sure they can avail of the opportunities that are emerging to find new jobs.

I remind the Deputy that she represents a constituency in Dublin. Today, unemployment in the city fell to a level well below 8%. Unemployment has nearly halved in recent years. A total of 64,000 people are back at work in Dublin because of the work of the Government. The challenge now is to keep the recovery going. We will have balanced employment protection and a balanced enterprise policy to grow our base and to grow opportunities for people so that they can put their lives back on track.

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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Before the Minister, Deputy Bruton, leaves the Chamber, I wish to inform him that, unfortunately, unemployment in Wexford is still at 22%. That is worth his attention.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy should check the latest figures. I think the Deputy is wrong.

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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I did.