Ms Dara Breathnach:

When it comes to employment status, which is a bit outside my bailiwick, it is my understanding that a person whose employment status is not entirely clear can make an application to the Department of Social Protection for a determination as to whether he or she is an employee. I do not recall any case in which there has been a claim to the insolvency payment scheme where the employment status of the individual was actually an issue. It would be rare. The scope section in the Department of Social Protection or, sometimes, Revenue, as the case may be, should be able to determine whether or not a person is an employee for the purposes of these protections.