Ms Fiona O'Dea:

In terms of the six-month period in head 20, that reflects the period in place under the Companies Act. That period is not being changed. It is six months in the case of a connected person but two years in the case of an unconnected person. What we are putting forward in this proposal is that the court be given greater discretion to extend those periods where it is justifiable and equitable to do so. This was in response to a request from ICTU that those periods be extended out.

In terms of the connected person, I can come back to the Deputy on some of the points she made because I do not have the definition in front of me right now. If I may, I will respond to two earlier points the Deputy made. She spoke about making information available to the workers, particularly at difficult times. What the Department did as part of the plan of action was to make a general information note explaining, in very simple terms and in plain English, the rights and remedies that workers have under employment law and company law. On collective agreements, it is important to remember that these collective agreements, as the Deputy fully appreciates, are creatures of restructuring. They arise when a company is in the process of restructuring its debts as opposed to in a redundancy situation. I just wanted to make that point.