Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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At the time it was put forward, it was probably in respect of the failings of a company. However, that might not necessarily be the way it would be implemented if there is a suggestion that it could have other far-reaching consequences. That is the reason the recommendation has to be teased out. It provides for enhanced redundancy payments over and above the statutory entitlement in the event that there is a contravention by the employer of the Protection of Employment Act 1977. That refers to an earlier proposal around that 30-day consultation and if that Act has been contravened in respect of the consultation. It would apply if we changed the Act to allow for the 30-day consultation and it was not honoured. The authors of the Duffy Cahill report stress that we must look at all the proposals together. It is not a case of picking one over the other. Our job is to go further than that and examine other areas in addition to these six proposals because these are part of a very narrow focus and conversation around a hypothetical situation where assets have been sold off.