Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 26:

26. In page 9, after line 22, to insert the following:“Recouping Social Welfare payments from employer in wrongful dismissal cases

11. Any employer who has had a finding made against them of unfair dismissal under the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977 to 2007, shall reimburse the State the cost of the unfairly dismissed former employee’s social welfare payments for the period of time between the date of the former employee’s dismissal and the date on which the finding is made

against the employer under the aforementioned Acts.”.

This is something I put forward previously, although I do not know if the Minister of State has heard the argument for it. This would be to the benefit of the State. People who take cases to the Employment Appeals Tribunal must wait quite a long time before they are heard. In the intervening period, some end up in receipt of a social welfare payment. This amendment provides a mechanism to allow the Employment Appeals Tribunal to recoup the cost to the State of the social welfare payments from the employer in the event of the former employee winning a case. Should an employer be found to have dismissed an employee unfairly, why should the State foot the Bill? I cannot give the figures on the number of cases or the amount involved but in recent times, people were laid off without the rules of due process being complied with. In some respects, this is a money making scheme for the Department because it would enable the Department to recoup what it has been forced to spend, whether on supplementary allowances or otherwise. In the past, Ministers have said they will consider this proposal and that is the reason I keep tabling this amendment but they have never come back with a proposal.