Paddy Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I, too, wish to raise a number of issues with the section. How does the State recover overpayments? I raised the issue of self-employed people, particularly sole traders, who laid off staff during the recession or had no choice but to close their businesses because they had failed and were then required to pay redundancy of two weeks per year to all staff. When a business was unable to make those payments the State stepped in and paid the two weeks' redundancy per year. This provision operates under the 2003 Act, which was amended to increase the number of weeks of redundancy payments to employees from one week to two weeks per year. If I recall correctly, the State's decision to amend the legislation in 2003 was a knee-jerk reaction to a company in Waterford, Talk Talk, going bus and laying off between 400 and 500 employees overnight.

In any event, in this legislation sole traders are being treated completely differently from companies. A company can fold and the State will carry the can for two weeks' redundancy per year for its employees. In the case of a sole trader who has been a good employer for maybe 40 or 50 years but was unable to continue in business during the recession and had to close down, the State, as I said, stepped in and paid the two weeks per year when the employer was unable to pay. Now the State, in a number of instances that I am aware of, is pursuing such people for the return of this money. It is to be taken from the person's estate if he or she is unable to reach an agreement, presumably with the State. The person's estate will have to cough up when he or she dies. This is very serious as the sole trader is being treated differently from companies. I ask the Minister to examine the amendments made to the 2003 Act. In effect, the State, in that Act, introduced a retrospective provision requiring sole traders to pay moneys if they go bust or close their business. In January 2003, a sole trader may have been caught for a redundancy payment of one week per year, whereas in February of that year, a sole trader would have been caught for two weeks per year, possibly going back to the 1960s or 1970s. This was an awful position to place on sole traders.