2026-06-24

The issue of mass redundancies in the tech sector is very live at the minute. One of the companies we are speaking about this morning is Covalen. The actions of this company have been far from savoury in terms of the treatment of the employees it is making redundant. It has rejected calls for better severance packages and declined a request to start the process of voluntary rather than compulsory lay-offs. The tech industry faces major structural issues mainly as a result of AI. We have seen it across the board. However, the actions of Covalen are particularly sinister in the treatment of its employees. It is making bonus payments available as a gesture of goodwill, but these bonuses had already been earned by the workers. Given the pace of change in the tech industry, what new or expanded reskilling programmes, particularly in the area of AI, cybersecurity and advanced digital skills, will be funded to help displaced workers transition quickly into high-demand roles? I know my colleagues will speak in particular about Covalen but the tech industry is under attack from AI. While AI may have many benefits, the Department needs to seriously look at redundancies in that industry.

I have been working with this particular group of Covalen staff since January when the initial threats of redundancies were mooted. Since then, we have seen much larger redundancy numbers hitting this group. It has been an inspiring experience to work with them. They are a newly mobilised part of the workers' sector where tech and data workers are realising how precarious their jobs are right now in the context of artificial intelligence. Rather than going over what has already been discussed in the Chamber, I will pick up from an exchange last week when in response to questions from Deputy Pa Daly, the Minister of State said that Ireland has a strong robust legal framework in place to protect workers experiencing redundancy. I really want to question and interrogate that today. Although these workers have been mobilised, because we have a voluntary system they have found this new understanding of workers’ rights but then they have been faced with the fact that the company does not have to meet them there. One of the workers who emailed me stated, "Currently a majority of impacted staff do not meet the criteria for the statutory redundancy entitlements - it is crucial that the department intervene to demonstrate that AI related job cuts of this magnitude are not allowed to have such disproportionately negative consequences for workers"

Covalen is a window into the future for hundreds of thousands of workers in this country and across the world about AI replacing their jobs and then being made redundant by companies that have made enormous profits off the back of those workers and then leave those workers high and dry. In the case of Covalen workers, nearly 1,000 workers have lost their jobs over the last year, 720 recently, almost halving the workforce. They trained the AI to replace them and then they got left high and dry. As Meta has said they cannot work for another six months for any other company, what are they supposed to do to pay the rent? Covalen, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cpl, an Irish company which has contracts with the Government, is refusing to even talk to the workers’ trade union. These are people who protect us from the toxic disgusting content of social media as content moderators. They do an important job in our society and are being treated like dirt. Many of them will walk away with nothing or minimum statutory redundancy while Covalen has made enormous profits for Cpl and for Meta. The Government should not allow this and should use the leverage of Cpl contracts with the Government to say it will not get any more Government contracts if it treats workers like dirt like this. It is in the interest of every worker to support Cpl workers because this is the future for other workers if Covalen gets away with this.

I thank the Deputies for bringing this important matter to the floor the Dáil. As they are aware, on 27 April 2026 Covalen informed its employees of its intention to reduce its workforce. My understanding is that the company has been impacted by a shift in client demand, resulting in a reduction in the volume of services required and a requirement to adjust operations accordingly. My first and most immediate concern, and that of the Government, is the potential impact on employees and their families during this uncertain time. In response, the IDA has been engaging at a senior level with the company to ensure it is aware of the full range of IDA supports available at this time and will continue to do so. IDA Ireland has established an internal process for managing potential job-loss situations with its client companies. In respect of impacted employees, the IDA is proactively engaging across its client base to identify potential redeployment opportunities where there is a skills match. The IDA has also facilitated connections between interested companies and company representatives, and this work is ongoing. On the broader comments, I will talk to Deputy Gibney’s point regarding the Government’s publication of the action plan on collective bargaining, which has been welcomed by the social partners. That is currently being implemented to ensure that employees’ and employers’ voices are recognised. The situation also raises a broader issue which was mentioned - the impact of artificial intelligence and technology on the changing labour market and on jobs. I think we need to be clear and honest that artificial intelligence is a transformative technology with significant potential for Ireland's economy and competitiveness. Equally, there is a challenge in that we are all trying to predict how work will evolve. We recognise the very real concerns about job displacement but the evidence suggests that AI is more likely to augment jobs than replace them. We will see some displacements, which is natural, but the nature of work will also change significantly. That is why Government policy is very much focused on preparing workers for that transition. We have published the national digital and AI strategy which is very much focused on how we can invest in upskilling and reskilling, and how we can support workers to adapt and ensure Ireland continues to remain competitive in a changing global economy. We must deal with the immediate impact of job losses while also preparing for the long-term transition of work.

The treatment of the Covalen workers has been absolutely toxic. We have workers who have been involved in a company that has made millions as a result of their work, including moderating, as Deputy Boyd Barrett alluded to, yet this company is treating its workers with such disregard by offering two weeks statutory pay and saying they are getting bonuses as a goodwill gesture. They have already earned these bonuses, which were due to them anyway. The notion that we would allow a company to act in this manner, given the profits it makes, is absolutely disgraceful. As a Parliament, we have to do something about this.

I cannot think of a better description than "head in the sand" for the Government's response to AI and labour displacement. To tell us that labour is going to be augmented and not displaced because of AI is genuinely shocking to me. When I raise AI and labour displacement, this is what I get - we are focusing on reskilling and retraining, jobs are going to improve and we are going to have better jobs. There is no recognition of the massive transformation that is happening in society and there are no efforts to deal with it. If this is the Government's canary in the coalmine and an example of what is happening, and this is its response to what is happening to Covalen workers, then we are doomed because there is so much more of this coming down the track. To pretend that it is just going to make jobs better is so ridiculous.

AI potentially threatens to do to hundreds of thousands of workers what is being done to Covalen workers. That is why we have to act now. AI aside, there are mass collective redundancies where companies refuse to talk to trade unions - as is happening in this case - do not consult with workers, dump workers and leave them high and dry, even though they have made big profits. We have seen that before with Debenhams and in many circumstances, yet the Government continues to allow it to happen. The Government must demand that these companies engage with workers and their trade unions, and use the Government's leverage with Cpl to tell it - an Irish company - that it cannot treat workers like this and if it does, it is getting no more Government contracts.

I thank the Deputies for their contribution. The Government fully understands the impact jobs losses have on workers, their families and communities. In the immediate term, we are very much providing the supports, which are being mobilised. We are also engaging with the IDA, the State agency, in terms of redeployment. That is actively being pursued. Engagement with the company is ongoing. Looking beyond the immediate situation here, we have recognised that technological change, in particular AI, will certainly reshape our labour market. We have been very clear on that. My Department continues to monitor this very closely and the impact it will have on our labour market. We have engaged with the research from the expert group on future skills needs, which very much highlights the rapid growth of AI adoption in Ireland, the strong demand for AI-related roles and the robust pipeline we have in terms of skilled workers that are emerging. It is important to re-emphasise that notwithstanding the adaptation that will be required and the significant challenges that will present in terms of how that transition is managed, that is why we have funding for research which is very much focused on future skills needs. We are also supporting lifelong learning in terms of reskilling and monitoring the labour market in real time. We are not being passive in this space. We are very much engaging with the Department of further and higher education and many industrial sectors. Our responsibility is twofold: to support workers affected today but also to ensure that workers are equipped for the jobs of the future. Ireland's workforce is ready to grow and thrive in an AI environment.