Louth TD Ged Nash has called on Enterprise Minister Peter Burke to intervene over the future of Dealz, amid growing uncertainty for thousands of workers across Ireland in the run-up to Christmas.
The Labour finance spokesperson raised the issue during Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil on Thursday, 12th November, urging the Minister to contact US investment firm Gordon Brothers, which owns Dealz and its UK sister company Poundland.
Nash said approximately 3,500 jobs across 70 Dealz stores in Ireland could be at risk, including jobs in Drogheda and the wider North East.
Dealz’s UK sister company Poundland, also owned by the US-based investment firm has today received a ten-day UK High Court extension to protect the chain from it’s creditors.
Workers facing uncertainty before Christmas
Nash said the Government needed to engage directly with Gordon Brothers and seek assurances about its plans for the Irish business.
“Dealz workers are heading into their busiest weeks of the year wondering whether they will still have a job after Christmas. I do not want to add to their existing anxieties, but it is high time that government started showing some interest in this.
“Yesterday, the Minister for Public Expenditure said that Government had received no notification of collective redundancies. Workers need to know what the Enterprise Minister is doing now to work to protect their interests. I asked him that directly today and he simply failed to answer.”
“We have known about the possible threat to jobs since September. His response to me makes it clear that neither the Minister nor any of his agencies have spoken to Gordon Brothers to interrogate their plans for Ireland. This is irresponsible. Just yesterday Gordon Brothers attended a private meeting of the Select Committee on Business chaired by Liam Byrne MP, in Westminster.
“Irish people will know that Gordon Brothers companies owned Clery’s until the fateful day of the 12th June, 2015. Almost 500 people lost their livelihoods when the company that ran the department store was put into liquidation. The building was flipped to Natrium, which told workers it was not their employer.
People who had given years to that business were left on O’Connell Street with nothing but the dole. I supported those workers through thick and thin, and I worked to change the law so workers facing redundancy in an insolvency would have a voice and a right to consultation. That is now law.
Call for Government action
Nash said the Minister should seek a clear plan from Gordon Brothers to protect Dealz workers and ensure they are kept informed about developments.
“Minister Burke must take action and demand a plan from the ultimate owners of Dealz to protect jobs in Ireland and tell workers what he is doing to secure their future. To date, government’s inaction and silence on an issue we have all been aware of for weeks now, has been damning.”
For now, Dealz stores remain open, but the uncertainty surrounding the company’s future continues as the busy Christmas shopping period approaches.
