Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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81. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if the employees of a company that has entered receivership (details supplied) can apply for new employment, jobseeker’s allowance, supplementary welfare allowance or any other social welfare payment during the lengthy receivership period without this action having a negative impact on their redundancy entitlements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62270/25]

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Guirke is taking question No. 81 for Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh.

Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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This question relates to the employees of Fastway.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy. I also thank Deputy Conway-Walsh for tabling the question and her engagement over recent days about the Fastway workers. All of our thoughts are with the workers affected by this receivership. It is very concerning for all of them and I assure Deputy Guirke that my Department's priority is to support all the workers who are affected and ensure they receive their statutory entitlements and appropriate income supports in a timely manner.

When a company enters receivership, employees are typically placed into a statutory consultation period lasting 30 days. An employee remains in employment during the 30-day consultation period. They continue to accrue an entitlement to wages and holiday pay. That can then be claimed via the insolvency payments scheme if they are unpaid due to the employer's insolvency.

There is no statutory restriction on employees taking up alternative or additional employment during the consultation or receivership period, provided they do not formally resign from their current employment. Accepting other work does not affect an employee's statutory redundancy entitlement as long as the employment contract with their original employer is still in place. Employees should not apply for jobseeker's payments during the consultation period, as they remain employees until employment terminates. Applying prematurely could affect entitlements under redundancy and insolvency payments schemes. Once the consultation period ends and the employment is formally terminated, affected employees may apply for jobseeker's payments.

I assure the Deputy that, in the interim and if immediate financial support is needed, it will be made available through the supplementary welfare allowance scheme. As of yesterday, 45 supplementary welfare allowance scheme urgent needs payments had been issued to people in this situation with Fastway. Other people affected, including the self-employed and franchise and direct employees of contractors, can apply for jobseeker's immediately. As of yesterday, 56 jobseekers claims had been awarded to people in this regard.

My Department has established a dedicated team to work closely with the Fastway liquidators, workers and their representatives to provide guidance, ensure efficient processing of claims and provide opportunities to resolve any queries collectively, where possible. Our local Intreo and employment services offices are available and are assisting affected Fastway staff as we speak.

Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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In the run up to Christmas, many of the Fastway workers do not know how they will cope. Rose Conway-Walsh, Senator Maria McCormack, Councillor Claire Murray and I have been meeting every few days and more on these issues as well as on the issues arising that franchise owners are experiencing. Councillor Murray spoke to a franchise owner and issues are coming up regarding the franchise agreement. The way these franchise owners have been treated could be a national scandal.

This receivership announcement is devastating for all affected workers, subcontractors and their families. The timing of this decision could not have been worse. Families are already struggling with the cost-of-living crisis and many now face the real fear of losing their income in the run up to Christmas. I recently met the affected Fastway workers who were protesting outside Leinster House. I heard first hand from the employees. Can I ask the Minister to meet all those affected and listen to their concerns?

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I am listening to concerns directly through the Deputy, Deputy Conway-Walsh and many other Deputies. I have met workers myself in my own constituency. That is why we have put the processes in place that have ensured 45 urgent needs payments have been made and 56 jobseeker's claims have been awarded. The offices are available to the Deputy to process any specific claims he has. I absolutely agree with him about the pressure this is putting on employees and franchise holders. I want to ensure that the supports we can make available at this time can be made available, albeit there this a redundancy process underway. I do not want to see people without an income at any time of the year, but particularly at this time of year. That is why we set up a dedicated team to deal with Fastway workers. Every Intreo office and local employment office in the areas most affected have processes in place to deal with them efficiently and quickly. If there are specific cases the Deputy wants to raise, the team in the Department are more than happy to engage with the him or any Member of the Oireachtas directly in relation to that.

Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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As the Minister knows, these workers and all those impacted deserve clear communication and support from both the company and the Government. Some franchisees have invested heavily to establish their franchises. This must be taken into consideration. Workers need an income and certainty. The Government must engage with the receiver and ensure that all avenues are explored to safeguard jobs, protect workers and ensure those owed money are not left behind.

Senator Maria McCormack and Councillor Claire Murray hosted a public meeting for the workers and subcontractors affected by the closure of Fastway's Portarlington depot. People travelled all the way from Cork, Donegal and all over Ireland to join a jam-packed room. Franchise owners who recently bought into the franchise with Fastway have bought vans on finance and spent €50,000-plus on the franchise.

Now they are left with repayments they cannot meet. Those affected feel like they are being left in the dark. They are fearful that red tape will stop them getting fair payments. Will the Minister ensure the Government does all to support the workers and franchise owners to make sure they are not forgotten about and to protect workers rights throughout this receivership process?

Eoin Hayes (Dublin Bay South, Social Democrats)
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I thank the Minister and his officials for creating a task force for the Fastway workers. I am conscious that we are not just talking about people who are in typical employment situations. We are talking about people who are self-employed, who are contractors and who are franchisees. According to the information I have, about 1,000 people are in that category as opposed to the 300 who were employed by Fastway directly. When we think about the self-employed provision that is available from the Department for people who will never be paid again, who are out of pocket, in some cases by tens of thousands of euro, there is a huge shift in our employment more generally towards the self-employed population. Having appropriate social protection provision for those people is a key issue we need to solve in this phase of employment. I am also particularly conscious of the fallout for those franchisees. Are any legal routes for them in recouping the moneys that they spent as a result of the franchisee arrangement they had with Fastway? If the Minister can give clarity on that, it would be helpful.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I thank both Deputies. As I said in relation to the franchisees, the self-employed and the employees of contractors of Fastway, they can apply for jobseekers' payment immediately. We have processed and awarded 56 claims already in relation to that group of people. The work my Department team is doing at the moment is working with receivers, getting records of who is an employee and who is not and who is a franchisee, and getting that level of detail. That has been under way since the company entered into receivership. I thank the staff in my Department who are working on that team. They engaged with this immediately when this issue arose. That team is in place. The offices in the relevant areas are being given resources to deal with this quickly and, most importantly, as they always do, empathetically, particularly given the circumstances of this and to ensure we get decisions turned around quickly. We have done 45 urgent-need payments and 56 jobseekers' claims. That gives a sense of the focus and attention this is getting within the Department.