Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

The various agencies and supports that have been outlined have been active in some of these disputes, and in some cases there have been successful resolutions, as the Deputy probably knows. There is active discussion ongoing in some cases, with SIPTU involved with the Labour Relations Commission and a proposal being put. In another of the cases, following discussions between Mandate and KPMG, the administrator, the outstanding moneys are being paid, with workers getting their entitlements. Portraying the issue as if the system is simply not working should not be the case. There have been cases that any of us would regard as not the way business should be done, and for instance, there may not have been sufficient notice. The agencies I outlined in my reply are taking action and achieving success in some cases. With other cases the disputes are proving particularly difficult.

Employers are under an obligation to give statutory notice and there are legal enforcement powers if there is a failure to do so. Those powers remain available. We have a system of voluntary industrial relations, with experienced machinery to help both sides reach conclusions. We allow those to work through but there are reserve powers; for example, in the case of redundancy, the Minister for Social Protection would pursue an employer to recover, on behalf of the taxpayer, moneys that may have been paid.

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