Gerald Nash (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I will be brief because I am anxious that these amendments are voted on this evening. This is an urgent matter, as I hope the Minister of State will agree. This is not a new experience, and every speaker has referenced this. What has happened in Grafton College is illustrative of a wider problem regarding the gaps in employment rights' coverage in this State. I have sought to address these gaps in recent years, with some success to some degree, but there are still gaps that need to be addressed and filled.

The English-language sector is, in effect, a byword for exploitation and all that is wrong with the worst forms of business practice in this country. It is not necessarily only a matter to do with employment rights and their enhancement. This goes to the heart of problems associated with the enforcement of company law. I worked hard during my short spell as Minister of State to address some of the issues relating to tactical insolvencies. I produced the Duffy Cahill report, which identified ways in which workers can be better protected in the context of what we describe as tactical insolvencies. These are where directors simply walk away from their businesses leaving workers on the breadline, creditors at arm's length and the State to pick up the bill for the costs associated with statutory redundancy entitlements. This is no way to run a system. The Minister State and her colleagues in Government need to review their position on the Duffy Cahill report. Time and again tactical insolvencies of this nature have come back to bite us. Recently, in Dundalk, the Authentic Food Company closed down overnight leaving workers on the hook and leaving the State on the hook to pay statutory redundancy.

Elements of company law can be used to pursue errant directors involved in these cases. One of these particular sections, as the Minister of State will be aware, remains untested. This is section 599 of the Companies Act whereby, in effect, the State or any other creditor can go after the related assets of the directors of a company to try to ensure that moneys owed to the State are recovered. This was something that Duffy Cahill report focused on clearly and methodically. This element of company law has been in place since 1991. It was introduced by Desmond O'Malley but it is yet to be tested. It should be enforced to the nth degree, at least to dissuade people who may be considering tactical insolvencies of this nature, to stop them in their tracks and ensure creditors are paid and that workers have their rights vindicated in tactical insolvencies. As it stands, they do not. I refer to what happened with Clerys and the Authentic Food Company in Dundalk. The same is happening to the workers of Grafton College in Dublin. I support the amendments and I hope the Minister of State will accede to our request to support them and a clear position can be enunciated by the House this evening on this critical matter.