Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to begin by agreeing entirely with my colleagues, Senators Lawless and Mark Daly, regarding the horrors currently happening in America. While I have always been critical of many aspects of American policy, I never thought I would see the day when children would be separated from their parents and kept in cages.It is horrific and has echoes of the worst kind of 1930s politics. When one thinks of what is happening in Italy, Hungary, Austria and Poland with far-right parties coming to power with openly racist and bigoted agendas, it is important for all of us as democrats to unite around this issue. I commend the statement on it from the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. It was strong and clear as it had to be. We should go further in calling in the US ambassador, when available, to explain events.

I want to raise the disturbing issue of the McKesson Corporation and LloydsPharmacy. The McKesson Corporation is the largest pharmaceutical corporation in the world with annual revenues of $195.8 billion. LloydsPharmacy benefits enormously from the State and it is only too willing to accept contracts from State bodies such as the HSE. It gets millions of euro in taxpayers’ money but it refuses to recognise the rights of workers who have had to go on strike on this matter. The company has refused to recognise a simple Labour Court recommendation that it should talk to its workers and their legitimate representatives. What the company actually did was set up its own workers’ representative body and fund it to the tune of €10,000. What kind of independent body is that?

We have one of the richest companies in the world flagrantly ignoring workers’ rights and leaving workers with no choice but to go on strike last week and again for two further days in the coming week. The Seanad must unite around this issue. I will be proposing a motion without debate in the coming week if this matter has not been resolved. I expect all parties to support this motion which will simply call on the company to recognise and work with the Mandate trade union. It is a disgrace that in 2018 we have corporations availing of taxpayers’ money to the tune of millions of euro while ignoring the State's industrial relations machinery and the Labour Court. It is appalling.

I support Mandate and I expect all parties to support the trade union in this dispute. Members will have received correspondence from Brian Forbes of Mandate. I urge Members to read this and act on it.