Taoiseach denies Government 'abandoned' Debenhams workers 

Valerie Conlon, shop steward and former worker at the Patrick St branch in Cork, said the €3m upskilling deal has yet to be voted on. I can't see it being a yes vote'. Picture Denis Minihane

Angry outbursts in the Dáil, accusing the Government of abandoning Debenhams workers, erupted in the last session of Taoiseach’s questions before Christmas.

An “insulting” deal of a €3m training fund was offered to former workers with no additional redundancy pay beyond their statutory entitlement.

Two State bodies, the Revenue Commissioners and the Department of Social Protection, are owed €18m from the liquidation but have not agreed to allow proceeds from the sale of stock to go directly to workers instead.

Labour Court chairman Kevin Foley, who has been mediating the dispute, reported that both agencies did "not find it possible to mandate the liquidators to do other than meet the requirements of the relevant law." 

Meanwhile, liquidators KPMG have paid out €4.6m for their own services — on legal fees for taking workers to court, security, leases and warehouses for stock removal — the vast bulk of which would not have been necessary had there been an early settlement with the workers, Solidarity TD Mick Barry said.

“If government had intervened after 50 days as opposed to after 250 days you would have saved the vast, vast bulk of these expenditures, money which in my opinion should have been used to top up the workers' redundancy," he said in the Dáil.

The €3m training fund was not appropriate for many of the workers who have already started training or are at the end of their working careers and that money should be used instead to top up workers' redundancy packages, he said.

But Taoiseach Micheál Martin defended his Government, saying that the State had stepped up to the plate to support workers paying €13m in statutory redundancy — it was the private sector that failed.

"Governments can’t intervene legally with how the liquidation process undertakes its business," Mr Martin said. 

"There are unfortunately legal constraints around the liquidation process itself." 

Revenue was legally obliged to claim the money it was owed, as was the Department of Social Protection, the latter of which had ultimately allowed redundant workers to be supported by the State, he said.

"There are no easy ways to circumvent those laws," he said.

"The Government did provide statutory redundancy. We’ve actually stepped up to the plate here." 

He accused numerous opposition TDs of "playing politics" with the issue and "leading people up the garden path" when they knew that there was no easy solution to the dispute.

Valerie Conlon, shop steward and former worker at the Patrick St branch in Cork, said that the €3m upskilling deal has yet to be voted on by postal ballot.

“I can’t see it being a yes vote," she said. "It’s not giving people anything extra.

“Kevin Foley did his best for us. This is the Government’s fault. They can find the money for things when they want to.

“This has left a very bitter taste in our mouths.”