Former Clerys workers have tonight renewed their call for the new owners to meet with them, and explain the sudden closure of the store.

A report into the sale and liquidation of Clerys, by Junior Minister Ged Nash, was presented to Cabinet this morning.

In it, Minister Nash says the law does provide for a situation where assets are kept in one arm of a company, while losses accumulate in another part, which is then liquidated.

The sale of Clerys and the subsequent loss of 400 jobs was criticised when the department store was split into a retail division, which was liquidated, and the assets were sold to an investment group.

Minister Nash says he expects that the company's assets should be available to the liquidators, but if that is not the case, then the law will need to be changed.

He is recommending court action against the Natrium group to force them to contribute more towards redundancy payments.

Minister Nash says that the Minister for Social Protection has a strong case under the Companies Act:

Sinn Féin's spokesperson on Jobs, Peadar Tóibín, says the law needs to be changed to protect other workers from the same fate:

Clerys ceased trading on June 12th, following the appointment of Kieran Wallace and Eamonn Richardson of KPMG as provisional liquidators of OCS Operations Limited, trading as Clerys.

Their appointment was confirmed yesterday.

In a statement last month, Natrium - the new owners of the iconic O'Connell Street department store - said it wants to support 1,000 jobs through the planning and refurbishment of the building over a two-year period.

It adds that "a predominantly retail-led development encompassing other commercial uses, subject to the planning process, will generate a minimum of 1,700 new sustainable long-term jobs in Dublin City Centre."

Former Clerys workers have continued to protest over the sudden closure, and thousands of signatures have been gathered in support of their position.