Michael Mullins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I join colleagues in extending my deepest sympathy to the relatives of the young people who lost their lives and of those who were seriously injured in Berkeley, California this morning. I heard a short while ago that my neighbour's son was in the building. While he was uninjured, he knew two of the young people who were killed. It is an appalling situation and I applaud the fact that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade deployed its consular crisis centre on the ground immediately in Berkeley to assist all the young people. In addition to those who were injured and who have lost their lives, many other young people have been traumatised by what has happened and they will need all the help they can get from the Department.

I share the sorrow for the workers in Clerys and the appalling manner in which the announcement was made last Friday. Everybody throughout the country feels for them. Clerys was an iconic brand through the years and many of us from the country on probably one of our first trips to Dublin as youngsters with our mothers would have visited Clerys. The shop has stood the test of time. It has been there since 1853, as Senator Quinn said. What has happened is appalling. I support the call for redundancy payments to be fast-tracked for the people concerned. I heard a number of the concession holders being interviewed earlier and they are in an awful position. Their stock is tied up and money is owed to them. We have witnessed a new low in business practice and in light of this, a thorough review of how business is conducted in this country, particularly in the retail trade, is needed. If legislation needs to be amended to provide greater protection for workers, then that must be done as a matter of urgency. Issues arise from this Clerys scenario that we, as a Government, cannot ignore. I hope the people who have worked there all their lives and who were about to retire but who now find themselves out of work receive whatever basic entitlements they are due immediately.