Local TD says rights of staff in Topshop and Wallis stores must be protected

The Government must ensure the rights and entitlements of workers in the Arcadia Group are protected after provisional liquidators were appointed to its Irish companies, local Sinn Féin TD Sorca Clarke has said.

The UK-based Arcadia Group has four Irish companies which operate 14 stores here, including Topshop and Wallis, which have local outlets in Athlone Towncentre and Golden Island Shopping Centre respectively.

"The appointment of provisional liquidators to the Arcadia Group, is another incredible blow for workers and the retail sector in Ireland," said Sorca Clarke, who was elected as a TD for the Longford/Westmeath constituency in February.

"My constituency, where we have Topshop/Topman and Wallis stores, together with concession stands in Shaws Department Store, Mullingar, means a great many of my constituents will be affected.

"While I welcome the announcement that the shops intend to continue trading through Christmas under the provisional liquidators, in an effort to maximise the value of the stock, it is vital that the money secured from the sale of this stock is ring-fenced for a decent redundancy package for workers.

"The workers across the Arcadia Group are the priority here, and I urge the Government, in the strongest possible terms, to remember this. We cannot allow another Debenhams situation, which shamefully remains unresolved, to develop.

"Companies are consistently taking advantage of loopholes to evade their responsibilities to their workers."

Following the closure of Clerys in Dublin in 2016, former Labour Court chairman Kevin Duffy and Senior Counsel Neasa Cahill were appointed to complete a report on workers' rights in insolvencies, but the recommendations of their report have not been implemented.

Deputy Clarke said her party had repeatedly requested that the recommendations of the Duffy/Cahill report be implemented "to protect workers in situations such as this."