Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I ask that the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment come to the House and that we have a debate on the world of work, in particular on employment law and the situation regarding our tech industry in light of the appalling behaviour by Twitter over the weekend and especially Mr. Musk and the way he has trampled on the rights of workers. Like Senator Hoey, I wish to express my abhorrence at what has happened to the workers. There was no notification other than by an email. They were locked out of their accounts and out of the place where they work. There was no due process in terms of the 30 days' notice that we have in this country. The rights of the workers were trampled on.

Thankfully, we have robust employment laws which must be adhered to and followed. It is important that we have a debate in the House on the nature of work now and on the tech industry around jobs and job security. I very much welcome that the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, and Ministers of State, Deputies Calleary and English, met yesterday with IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland regarding the situation. It is important that we as a House stand in solidarity with the workers. While recognising that Twitter is a global corporation, we do have to recognise that we have robust employment laws in this country.

I also concur with Senator Hoey regarding the World Cup and the awarding of the contract to Qatar, especially given its denial of and complete lack of regard for the rights of people who are of our LGBT community.As we move towards the World Cup I will be calling for a further debate on how sporting events are awarded. It is important that we send a message from the floor of the Seanad to the workers in Twitter in particular.