The developer of the new Clerys Quarter in Dublin is being asked to fulfill a promise to prioritise former workers for jobs - and to recruit staff from the communities surrounding O'Connell Street.
The department store is set to reopen on O'Connell Street in the next few months, with Flannels and H&M its anchor tenants. The major restoration project will open to the public almost eight years after the iconic Dublin store shut down, with the loss of more than 460 jobs at the time.
In 2017, there was an agreement that former employees at the department store would be first in line for new positions. Now a number of politicians, including Labour Senator Marie Sherlock, have written to the new owners asking for a commitment to the former Clerys workers on this.
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The local representatives recently sent a letter to CEO of Core Capital, Derek McGrath, asking for former workers to be prioritised. In the letter they wrote: "'We note with disappointment the failure to appoint a liaison officer dedicated to seeing the honouring of this deal earlier in this process but would hope that this can now be rectified to the benefit of all involved.
"As local representatives we would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you on this issue where you can brief us on your progress to date on establishing a beneficial relationship between the local community and your company aimed at fulfilling the commitments of the Clerys deal.
"We believe that the development of the Clerys Quarter should not only be a good news story in relation to the commercial development of the O’Connell Street area but also result in social benefits to the surrounding communities and wider public in Dublin," they concluded.
Speaking to Dublin Live this week, Sen Sherlock said that the priority is to hear back from the owners of the new stores, and to ensure that they recruit staff from the local community. She said: "It's obviously some years now since people were working at Clerys and we know people have moved on to other sectors etc, so absolutely if someone is eager to go back there fine.
"But I think really the priority is that we hear from the owners that there is going to be decent employment and that they're going to make a concerted effort to try to recruit from the communities around O'Connell Street."
Sen Sherlock described how the old Clerys building is "at the heart" of O'Connell Street. She said: "That and the GPO are two iconic buildings on the street. And if we're serious about instilling pride in O'Connell Street and serious about reviving the street, we need to make sure there is decent employment and that people are proud to point to shops on the street and think 'that is a decent employer' .
"We need to see leadership from the people who are now going to occupy the old Clerys building." Sen Sherlock acknowledged that O'Connell Street has in recent months seen issues crop up around anti-social behaviour and other incidents.
She said: "I think there's a problem with O'Connell Street, we can see that it's got a bad reputation now which is unfortunate because it's a great street. But it's got a reputational problem now in terms of being a place for bad behaviour and anti-social behaviour, and we need to change that around.
"It has had its issues but some of that has been overstated. I think we need to send out a signal that those living in Dublin are proud of the street, that it's a safe street for employment, a safe place to work and meet people and we need leadership on that." She also welcomed the recent restoration of Clerys clock in January in time for a historic exhibition.
She said: "It's fantastic to see the clock restored to its former glory. But the really important thing is what goes on underneath the clock and the store, will it be a place of decent employment and good jobs. And we need to make sure they honour the deal done to Dublin City Council, the Lord Mayor and the then owners of the site back in 2017."
The restored Clerys Quarter shopping centre inside the building is expected to open before the summer.
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