Industrial Disputes Dail Éireann — 2026-03-18 ============================================================ Conor D. McGuinness (SF), Waterford The Minister stated in his response: "The question regarding the provision of leaving service options is one for the employer and the trustees, rather than the State." The first part of the sentence is true. At the time these workers were made redundant, it was incumbent on the employer and the trustees to provide full information. The State, however, has a role in vindicating rights and ensuring compliance with not just the letter but the spirit of the law. It must ensure, in instances where there is a difference in power, such as a large multinational company making workers in Waterford redundant, that it is on the side of the workers and that there is fair play. Fairness and justice were not applied here. That happened on the State’s watch and that of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. The Minister and the Government have legal advice that says they can just sit on their hands and let this injustice continue. This comes down to a political decision. It comes down to a choice of values and a matter of justice. The Minister has a political decision to either sit on his hands or meet these workers halfway and make a reasonable attempt to resolve this issue. Birthdays come around every year and time is not on the side of these former Waterford Crystal workers. In the last line of the Minister’s response, he state: I do not [believe] a meeting is warranted. I [trust] this clarifies the matter for [the Deputy]." It is crystal clear, in the last line of his response outlining that a meeting is not warranted, that he is refusing to meet with this group of workers who have suffered an injustice. At the very least, sit down with them and hear the impact of their stories. Let us work to get a resolution for these men. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-03-18/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:45+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-03-18