Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am sure the Minister of State is struck at the unanimity across the Chamber on the issue of compensation. I am not filled with confidence when she says that the Department is still looking at the issue of compensation because that does not tell us very much. I have a direct question for her. Does she think two weeks per year of service is adequate redundancy for these workers? I am pretty clear that no one else does. It would be good to get a response on that. If she acknowledges that it is not adequate, as everybody else across the Chamber has, what steps will she undertake to address that situation?

When I was a trade union official, unfortunately part of my job was to negotiate redundancy packages. It was very common to negotiate packages of six weeks per year of service. The best deal we got was about nine weeks per year of service. My point is this is not an abnormal issue. People negotiate redundancy, recognising the service of the workers and respecting them. If the State will not respect these workers and the place in which they find themselves, it is a shocking indictment of us all. I ask the Minister of State to answer the question directly. Does she accept that the statutory redundancy of two weeks per year of service is not adequate compensation for these workers?

I ask her to outline what is possible on Report Stage. A number of things are possible. Having a better redundancy package is possible; it is a question of political choice. We should provide a proper fund for upskilling. I understand the response the Minister of State read out. I know from previous experience of significant closures that sometimes a fund needs to be provided. I expect these workers will have a hell of a job finding different work because they have been working in such a specialised field. These are reasonable requests. I cannot believe that the Minister of State would be out of step with everybody else here. In fact, I am pretty sure she, personally, is not out of step. She also has the responsibility and the power to change it. I would really appreciate if she could address those issues because it is right thing to do.