Sinn Féin TD for Dublin South West Seán Crowe has said that the injunction granted against the Debenhams workers’ pickets today only strengthened the argument that the Duffy Cahill report’s recommendations be enacted and the Debenhams workers paid their proper redundancy.

Teachta Crowe said that the decision today highlights the scale of the fight that the Debenhams workers have undertaken and the huge barriers thrown up by a Government that has ignored the demands of workers for decades.

Speaking after the injunction was announced in the High Court, Teachta Crowe said:

“The treatment of Debenhams workers in recent months has been appalling. They have been treated in an unfair and indefensible way, but they have shown determination in their campaign for fair conditions and they are entitled to fair treatment.

“The injunction today is not the end of the Debenhams protests, far from it. I have stood with Debenhams workers throughout the six months as they have fought for their rights and I will continue to do so. No worker should be criminalised for seeking fair and equitable treatment.

“I am calling on the Tánaiste Leo Varadkar to immediately enact the recommendations of the Duffy Cahill report that was commissioned following the Clerys closure that resulted in exactly what we are seeing again with the Debenhams workers.

“This Government has ignored the needs and demands of workers for decades. How many more Clerys or Debenhams disputes do we need to see before they do the right thing and stop siding with vulture funds and those who would use tactical liquidations and redundancies to squeeze every last penny out of a company before throwing workers out on the street.”