Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú)

The Minister of State did not answer any of my questions with concrete solutions. She has a lot of hope and talks a lot about hope. The Government said it was well aware of what was happening. If it was well aware, why did it continue pumping taxpayers' money into a business it knew was going into examinership?

These workers are supporting families. They poured years of their lives and dedication into the Wellman company. Thoughts and prayers are a nice platitude but they mean nothing to families who are wondering how they will pay for their weekly shopping. Instead of the Government offering sympathies, it needs to look at how it can intervene, either by finding a new investor or by ensuring redundancy packages are offered to workers. The Government has to get out and fight for these people. They are turning to their Ministers for help and for someone to stand up and fight for them. Tea and sympathy are not what they are looking for.

Is the Government taking the necessary legislative steps to close the loophole that allows this to happen?