Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will speak to Parts 11 and 12 of the Bill, which fall within my remit. Both are subject to commencement orders as set out in section 2. Part 11 sets out amendments to the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 2005 required in order to maintain the status quoin the common travel area. The purpose of these amendments is to maintain the current reciprocal arrangements for social insurance, which includes pensions, and social assistance or means-tested schemes linked to residency rights and child benefit between Ireland and the UK, including Northern Ireland. There are approximately 132,000 people in receipt of a UK state pension living in this country and approximately 1,000 customers receiving child benefit payments from the UK for children residing in Ireland. There are 28,760 people residing in the UK who are in receipt of a contributory State pension from Ireland and 840 people residing in the UK are in receipt of full-rate child benefit payments from my Department. These payments are in respect of 1,830 children, 95% of whom reside in Northern Ireland. A further 920 people residing in the UK are in receipt of child benefit supplement payments from my Department in respect of 2,010 children, 97% of whom reside in Northern Ireland. We want to ensure the continuation of these payments and that is what we are doing with this legislation.

Ireland and the United Kingdom share a long history of co-operation in social security matters. The principle of reciprocity has been reinforced in bilateral agreements and arrangements on social security between the two countries since 1924. This is underpinned by the principle of equal treatment so that Irish citizens enjoy the same benefits as UK citizens and vice versa. These rules are designed to protect people moving and working between each State and to minimise any disadvantages they might otherwise experience.

From a social welfare perspective, maintenance of the status quois of critical importance to me and the Government in the event of a no-deal Brexit. As a result of the unique nature of the common travel area and the associated rights and privileges it provides and will continue to provide for Irish and British citizens in each others' countries, it was agreed that Ireland and the UK would formalise the pre-existing common travel area social protection arrangements in a legally-binding agreement. Under the terms of that agreement, all existing arrangements regarding recognition of, and access to, social insurance entitlements will be maintained in both jurisdictions. This means that the rights of Irish citizens living in Ireland to benefit from social insurance contributions made when working in the UK and to access social insurance payments if resident in the United Kingdom are protected and vice versa.

The agreement is subject to ratification processes in both Ireland and the UK that are under way. I am confident that these processes will be completed in both jurisdictions before 29 March but I want to be absolutely certain that the current arrangements can continue even if all the necessary steps in the ratification process are not completed by that date. That is the overall purpose of the amendments in Part 11, which are required in the event of no-deal Brexit.

Section 76 provides that for the purposes of Part 11, the "Act of 2005" is the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 2005. Section 77 provides for an amendment to section 287 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 2005 with regard to the continuation of a range of social welfare payments. The amendments provide for the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection to make an order in respect of the way in which arrangements under this section interact. Such arrangements may cover a number of issues, such as the recognition of contributions paid in other countries such as the United Kingdom. It further provides that an arrangement under this section includes an agreement, in certain circumstances, which is intended to be binding but where it has not yet become binding. This allows the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection to make an order to provide for the implementation of the Convention on Social Security between the Government of Ireland and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the event that the ratification process is not completed by 29 March.

Section 78 amends section 113A, entitlement to invalidity pension in certain circumstances; section 205, recoupment of supplementary welfare allowance in certain circumstances; and table 2 of Schedule 3, treatment of payments equivalent to child benefit in the means test. It also inserts a new Part 8A, entitlement to island allowance. These amendments insert specific references to the UK into the Act so that the same rules will be applied with regard to the treatment of the UK under these provisions when the United Kingdom is no longer covered by existing references to "member state" in those provisions. As I have already said, I am confident the ratification process will be complete in both jurisdictions by 29 March. However, it is prudent to proceed with Part 11 to ensure all eventualities are covered.

I am also responsible for Part 12, which sets out a number of amendments to the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) Act 1984, which, in turn, provides for the insolvency payments scheme. The purpose of the scheme is to protect certain outstanding pay-related entitlements owed to employees in the event of the insolvency of their employer. The scheme covers employees who are in insurable employment in Ireland. This includes employees who are employed in Ireland by an employer who becomes insolvent under the laws, regulations and administrative procedures of another member state. In the event of a no-deal Brexit, employers in a state of insolvency under laws of the United Kingdom would not fall within the scope of the Act without the amendments set out in Part 12. Employees of those employers who are employed in Ireland would no longer be covered by the protections set out in the Act, notwithstanding that those employees are in insurable employment contributing to the Social Insurance Fund. It is therefore necessary to make amendments to a number of sections of the Act to ensure that employees who are employed in Ireland and whose employer has been made insolvent under the laws of the United Kingdom will continue to receive protection under the Act. These are the amendments in Part 12 which I will now describe.

Section 79 provides that for the purposes of Part 12, the "Act of 1984" is the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) Act 1984. Section 80 provides for amendments to a number of the definitions in section 1 of the 1984 Act. When a claim is made under the insolvency payments scheme, it must be submitted by the "relevant officer" who has been appointed by a "competent authority". Both of those terms are defined in section 1(1) of the 1984 Act. Section 80 amends the definitions of "competent authority" and "relevant officer" to ensure that administrators of employers which have been made insolvent under the laws of the United Kingdom can continue to submit applications on behalf of employees who are employed in Ireland. In addition, a definition of "Directive" is being inserted to clarify that the directive referred to is Directive 2008/94/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2008 on the protection of employees in the event of the insolvency of their employer. A definition of United Kingdom is also being inserted to ensure that we are effectively treating the United Kingdom in the same way as when it was a member state and to ensure that employers made insolvent in the United Kingdom will continue to fall within the scope of the Act. Section 1(3) of the 1984 Act sets out the circumstances in which an employer is deemed to be insolvent for the purposes of the Act. The amendment to this section inserts a paragraph to include circumstances where the employer has been made insolvent under the laws of the UK. Section 4(1) of the 1984 Act specifies the date on which an employer will be regarded as having become insolvent for the purposes of the scheme. Section 81 amends this provision by inserting a new paragraph to include the date on which an employer is made insolvent under the laws of the UK.

Section 7 of the 1984 Act allows claims to be made where an employer has become insolvent and has failed to pay contributions in accordance with the occupational pension scheme or personal retirement savings accounts, PRSAs.

Section 82 amends section 7(3) of the 1984 Act to ensure that amounts certified by an actuary or a person performing a similar task relating to employers made insolvent in the UK, and where the employees are habitually employed in the State, can be submitted for payment under the scheme.

Section 83 inserts a new section 8A into the 1984 Act with regard to the transfer of personal data where the employer is insolvent in the UK. To continue to make payments from the scheme to employees who are employed in Ireland but where the employer has been made insolvent under the laws of the UK, it is necessary to share personal data of those employees with UK administrators and insolvency practitioners. This new section 8A gives the Minister the power to make regulations to share personal data with UK administrators and further provides that in sharing personal data, the Minister will have regard to the important public interest to ensure robust compliance with the general data protection regulation, GDPR.

In the economic uncertainties that may prevail in a no-deal scenario, it is vital that we continue the protection of the insolvency payments scheme to workers in Ireland, and that is why I am introducing these amendments in Part 12. Like all my other colleagues who have spoke about this legislation today or yesterday, I sincerely hope that we will come to an agreement between now and 29 March, there will be an orderly Brexit and we will never need to commence this legislation.

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