Marie Sherlock (Labour) | Oireachtas source

Following on from Senator Gavan's appeal on the Safe Access to Termination of Pregnancy Services Bill, it is to be commended that we have space on the Order Paper to bring the Bill to Report and Final Stages. The critical issue now is what will happen to it. As Senator Gavan said, it is the only Bill we have, notwithstanding that commitments have been given by the Minister for Health in this space.

Almost two years ago, on 9 April 2020, 955 people lost their jobs by email when the Debenhams stores closed overnight. In the weeks that followed, the Government rightly said that it was determined to ensure that no other workers would find themselves in a similar situation in which they would be effectively locked out of their workplaces in the manner in which the Debenhams workers were locked out, with the State having to stump up the statutory redundancy payment to the workers. We are two years on now. What has the Government done to follow through on those commitments that were made throughout the spring and summer of 2020? There is an urgency to the need to put protections in place. The employment wage subsidy scheme, EWSS, will cease by the end of this month and redundancies are coming down the tracks because of a variety of factors. A number of manufacturing companies, in particular, are under increasing pressure. Where are those protections the Government committed to in 2020? Ten months ago, it published its plan of action and we were told there would be an employment law review group and amendments would be made to company and employment law, but we have not seen them. We need to see an urgency to that employment law review group. It is simply unacceptable that workers have been left waiting so long.

The other issue I raise follows on from one I raised yesterday relating to the arts space in Dublin and throughout the wider country. I raised the issue yesterday in the context of Richmond Road Studios and the 21 artists who are still waiting to hear from the receiver of the building in which they are tenants. Despite our appeals, we have yet to hear from Kroll, and I again extend my appeal to the firm to engage. In the context of the wider crisis, I highlight in particular the circumstances in Dublin. In 2021, Dublin City Council undertook a cultural infrastructure audit and found there were 2,500 artists and 25,000 creatives in Dublin, yet there were only 392 individual and shared arts spaces. Even in Dublin, therefore, there is a significant shortage. What is the Government going to do to secure arts spaces if it is the case that we value art in this country?