We need decent contracts.

It is cheap labour.

Yes, it is.

According to NESC's report, it is.

The programme for Government refers to the need to address the issues that arise out of cases similar to the Debenhams case and to protect workers who have been impacted during Covid. Earlier, the Taoiseach effectively refused to answer the question Deputy Barry put to him. That question, by the way, came directly from the shop stewards and they want to know his answer because it is very important facing into the next number of weeks. They want to know if the Taoiseach will state clearly that the removal of goods b…

Get them all in.

Will the Taoiseach clarify whether the removal of goods is not compliant?

It is non-essential retail.

Is liquidation part of level 5?

The resignation in April of the President of the European Research Council, Professor Mauro Ferrari, over what he deemed to be the really desperate failure of the EU, of which he was a big fan before taking the job, to respond effectively to Covid-19 was a pretty damning move that should raise questions. I have not heard a lot in the Taoiseach's contribution or more generally about the EU's response to Covid-19. If we consider a variety of countries around the world with a variety of regimes, including Australia, N…

The shameful behaviour of KPMG in sending a notice to the union representatives of the Debenhams workers stating it would not try to remove stock this week and that it would give two hours' notice, and then in the dead of night sending people in to remove stock, is absolutely shameful but typical of the way in which KPMG has treated these workers. The Government has said it has sympathy for the workers. I remind the Tánaiste that the Taoiseach said he did not believe there should be strike-breaking in respect of De…

Everybody objected except the Government.

If ever there was a demonstration that there is one law in this country for the rich, the powerful and big business and another for working people, we saw that demonstrated in the Four Courts yesterday, where KPMG, the liquidators of Debenhams, sought and got an injunction against Debenhams workers. This means workers who have been treated in the most despicable fashion by their employer and are engaged in an official dispute to fight for justice and fair redundancy now face – these workers include constituents of …

Stop the clock please. Do not waste my time. Stop the clock.

What I am talking about is the failure of the Government to address the situation whereby Debenhams can abuse workers like this. KPMG has very serious questions to answer about the way it is handling the liquidation process, given that there is court evidence from Debenhams that the online business was part of Debenhams Ireland's operation. Every worker knows it to be the case, but nobody is doing anything about it. Kieran Wallace told workers at meetings that the State could step aside as a creditor and allocate s…

It is long past time for action on this. We now face the prospect that ordinary working people - most of whom are women - who are not criminals and should not be criminalised, and have worked long, hard and loyally for Debenhams and have been treated despicably, could end up in jail. The Taoiseach needs to act urgently to prevent that. He should be under no illusion. They will hold this Government and previous Governments responsible for their plight because the failure to address all of these issues after Clerys i…

Not the shop stewards.

Where did the €1 million come from?

He did not-----

The devil is always in the detail with budgets. Despite the headline-grabbing figures for this budget, digging into the detail reveals some very severe problems. I was absolutely gobsmacked to get an email yesterday from a young woman who is a science graduate pursuing a postgraduate qualification in public health. She applied for a job as a contact tracer and received a contract from CPL, an agency. It was a zero-hours contract with no sick pay that could be terminated at any point. The hours offered were not guar…