Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)

I move amendment No. 24:

In page 13, lines 13 to 18, to delete subsection (3) and substitute the following:

"(3) An employer who effects a dismissal in pursuance of a proposal for collective redundancies before the expiration of such of the periods specified in subsection (1) and in sections 9(3) and 12(1) of the Protection of Employment Act 1977 as are applicable is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding €250,000 per individual dismissal.".

This amendment seeks to address a concern that I highlighted on Second and Committee Stages, which is that the maximum fine of €250,000 is paltry. I am conscious that it may seem a little bizarre for someone of my means to say that €250,000 is paltry, but I will contextualise that remark. We have been told by Irish Ferries that the entire redundancy package in that case, which applied to several hundred workers, cost the parent company €29.1 million. Similar circumstances could arise involving companies with more than 1,000 employees.

Section 10(3) states that an employer in the circumstances described would be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding €250,000. It would be of little concern to a major company to pay a fine of that level to save several million euro. That is why my amendment proposes that the fine of €250,000 be applicable for each individual dismissal. The amendment contextualises the penalty.

I do not propose a mandatory fine of €250,000 per dismissal. The amendment proposes a maximum fine of that amount, allowing flexibility in the imposition of the fine.

See this speech in context