Tom Parlon (Laois-Offaly, Progressive Democrats)

I thank Senator O'Meara for raising this issue. It is of particular interest to me because I also come from that area. Although Roscrea is not in my constituency, it was my home town. I went to school there and my children attend school there now. What has happened is an absolute tragedy.

The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment has given absolute priority to the processing of the claims for statutory redundancy lump sums under the Redundancy Payments Acts, 1967 to 2001. Although the fully completed forms will only be submitted today, the Department had made arrangements for the liquidator to provide the necessary data for input into the redundancy IT system earlier this week in order to facilitate the speedy processing of claims on behalf of the 245 employees concerned. The aim is to ensure payment before Christmas, despite the short notice. The total redundancy lump sums which have now been authorised for payment amount to €947,901 in total. These statutory payments will be entirely free of tax.

In addition, the Department has made special arrangements to have the individual cheques collected by the liquidator for prompt distribution to all employees concerned in order to avoid the Christmas postal rush. Close co-operation between officials of the Department and staff of the liquidator's office has been a key factor in the expeditious processing of the redundancy claims. I hope that this prompt payment will go some way towards compensating the employees who have been unfortunate enough to be made redundant, in particular at this time of the year.