More than 100 workers at Activision Blizzard in Blackpool in Cork city face redundancy within the next couple of weeks. Their company was purchased late last year by Microsoft for $75 billion, which is the largest video game acquisition transaction volume in history. Microsoft is arguably the largest company in the world with gross annual profits last year of $146 billion. It plans to gut nearly 2,000 Blizzard jobs worldwide. The Blackpool workers have many issues they would like to discuss with the company. These include a reduction in the number of job losses, a fair redundancy package and making any and all redundancies voluntary but the company refuses to talk to their trade union, Game Workers United Ireland, which is part of the Financial Services Union. How can the Government defend a situation where a huge American corporation can buy up a company with a base in Ireland, announce life-changing changes for its workforce and refuse to talk to the union chosen by long-standing workers in that company to represent them?

I am familiar with Blizzard Entertainment as I attended the announcement when it was first set up in Ireland in Cork. Our thoughts are with the workers of Blizzard and the situation regarding the employees is our foremost concern. The Government will provide a range of supports to those being made redundant, assisting with appropriate training and development, opportunities and income supports. The number of people employed is 198 and the number of redundancies is expected to be 136, which is very serious for these workers and their families. Microsoft is a very large organisation in Ireland and, hopefully, there may be opportunities for redeployment but I am not sure. We have to do everything we can to seek alternative employment for the workers. That would be our main concern. Regarding representation for workers, it is unclear from what the Deputy said whether the union is already in existence within the company or whether it is now seeking to represent workers. In any event, I have no doubt the Minister will work with the company to ensure that the rights enshrined in legislation are followed through on.

Should the company talk to the union?