Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This is a good amendment. Under the new section 38B of the principal Act, which the Minister is inserting by way of section 7 of the Bill, we will have a new system of recouping moneys owed to the State by employers. Deputy Ó Snodaigh is seeking to do something similar. In a situation where an individual is waiting for an unfair dismissal case to be heard, he or she will probably be entitled to jobseeker's benefit for the duration. Where the tribunal decides in that person's favour and awards due compensation, why should the State be at a loss in the amount of the jobseeker's benefit it was obliged to pay out for months or even possibly a year or more because of the proved illegal actions of the employer? The latter should be liable to reimburse the State in such circumstances.

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