Marie Moloney (Labour)

I join my colleagues in extending sympathy to the employees of TalkTalk and all those in Ireland who have lost their jobs in recent years, including at Aetna in Castleisland in my own constituency. I jointly proposed this motion because I have witnessed at first hand the shock and horror that people have experienced after losing their jobs. When a company moves abroad, it leaves a trail of financial hardship in its wake.

I am aware of many people who have encountered difficulties when they tried to claim redundancy payments and entitlements. In some cases when a company closes down or relocates abroad, workers will receive redundancy payments but this is not always the case. I am aware of small businesses which have told their employees they cannot afford to keep them on any longer. Some employees were let go on the spot while others were told they would be called back when work became available. In the vast majority of these cases the possibility of redundancy was not mentioned by the employers and it was left to the employees to chase their redundancy entitlements. If there is a dispute over redundancy, employees are covered by several Acts but the process of applying to the social insurance fund can take up to one year and, if contested, the application must go before the Employment Appeals Tribunal for a recommendation, which can take another year. If the employer went out of business it must submit its accounts to prove it is unable to make redundancy payments. The former employees are kept waiting all this time for their arrears of wages, overtime payments, pay in lieu of notice and holiday pay.

While I appreciate that the social insurance fund has been transferred to the Department of Social Protection, I am aware of individuals who have been waiting as long as three years for payments. This is not good enough. When one calls the Department and asks to be transferred to an official in the redundancy section, it is not possible to get through. Even filling in the requisite paperwork can cause problems because applicants are asked to provide the addresses and telephone numbers of companies that no longer exist. Where a company has gone into liquidation or receivership, applications for redundancy have now to be made to the liquidator or receiver.

If employees have at least 60 days' notice, they will have time to come to terms with the devastating news and investigate their entitlements. In some cases, deductions for health insurance, pension contributions and PRSI were taken from the employees but were not paid to the relevant bodies.

I ask that the Government consider introducing legislation that would ensure redundancy entitlements are paid within three to six months rather than cause further financial hardship for the families concerned.