It is quite clear that for many years there was a lack of foresight on the part of the Department, which did not anticipate a situation where employees would be made redundant frequently with a poor level of redundancy payments. This approach by the Government is not in keeping with the spirit of the legislation, which was intended to alleviate hardship caused to workers and their families as a result of redundancy and possible subsequent unemployment, compensate them for rights they had built up in their jobs, and reduce resistance to economic and technological change.