Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle's office for granting me time to speak on this issue.

Up to 40 workers are expected to be made redundant by Vita Cortex on Friday. The context of the problem I bring before the House is that approximately two years ago the owners secured a loan of €10 million from AIB to purchase this company. Three months ago the company announced the plant's closure because this loan had been taken over by NAMA and the company's assets had been frozen.

I understand there are funds available to meet the redundancy payments to which the employees are entitled but because the company is in NAMA, these payments cannot be agreed in the normal manner as they would if the company was not in the NAMA structure. To date, Vita Cortex has met with NAMA to seek to have the funds unfrozen. Until recent weeks an impression was created that some kind of resolution to the matter would be made. However, just prior to coming into the Chamber, I was given to understand that AIB has been in contact with the workers, on behalf of NAMA, and has stated emphatically that redundancy payments will not be paid from company funds, which are currently held in an account.

In response to this, I call on the Minister for Finance to seek urgent agreement from NAMA to confirm it will release these funds so that the workers who face a bleak prospect of unemployment will, at very least, be sure they will receive the redundancy payments due to them. This case highlights very clearly the difficulties that arise when NAMA effectively takes control of a company by taking charge of its outstanding loans. NAMA's interest in recovering the outstanding moneys can be in conflict with the best interest of a company and its employees. Here we have a situation where 40 workers who face into Christmas with the dole queues as their Christmas gift now also have a difficulty with their redundancy payments. I call on the Minister to intervene directly in this instance and to ensure that the obligations which require payment to these workers are put in place.

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