Last year sales were up 14% at Tesco Ireland, and the parent company made an operating profit of more than €2.25 billion. While the company added up the pandemic profits, Tesco workers risked their health day in, day out working at the front line.

Is the Taoiseach aware that this company is now trying to remove from staff all premium payments, including payment for working Sundays, bank holidays, unsociable hours, etc.? Is the Taoiseach aware that this company is trying to persuade workers to agree to work three months of Sundays in a row in return for a one-off lump sum payment and that this overall package could result in pay losses of up to €5,000 a year for some workers? The programme for Government rightly highlights the importance of work-life balance. Will the Taoiseach join me in opposing the actions of this money-hungry corporation and in saluting the stand being made by its workforce, which, to its credit, has rejected this rotten deal, with 88% of workers voting no?

I pay tribute to the workers in Tesco and indeed workers across the country in the retail sector, who have consistently performed magnificently in the middle of the pandemic in very challenging circumstances, and to all the companies involved for the overall team effort involved. It is important in the retail sector, as in every other sector, that proper pay and conditions apply. The industrial relations framework is there to negotiate and to resolve issues arising that are put forward by either management or union representatives. I think the union in this case is there to represent the workers on this issue.