Catherine Noone (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I, too, wish to express my condolences to the families of those young students who were killed or injured in Berkeley in the United States. For them to have been attending such a happy event, the 21st birthday party of one of their contemporaries, and for it to end so tragically is quite shocking.

I also wish to voice my support for the Clerys workers. When I first heard about this matter, I was concerned, shocked and surprised by the fact that the store was closing. However, my feelings soon turned to disgust when I discovered how the workers are apparently being treated. We often discuss the rights of workers and the responsibilities of employers but I do not believe I have ever previously seen quite such brazen treatment of staff, although reference was made to the former employees of TalkTalk in this regard. This style of takeover and shutdown of retail companies does not reflect how business has traditionally been carried out in this country and I do not believe it should be welcomed to these shores. The most heartbreaking aspect of this matter relates to the fact that when they commented on it in recent days, the staff seemed to be of the view that the store was doing much better than previously. It was making money but obviously this was not enough to service the huge debts it had built up. This is an extremely difficult situation and I wish the Ministers involved well in their efforts to provide assistance.

I welcome the decision the Government took earlier today to remove 1 cent and 2 cent coins from circulation. I only made a request last week that this should happen so I am delighted the Government has been so quick to deal with it. On a serious note-----