Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Gavan for raising this matter. We discussed this issue in 2021 as well. I again extend my sympathies to the workers in Rehab Enterprises who have been made redundant. I fully appreciate how difficult the situation is for those involved and for their families.

By law it is an employer's responsibility to pay statutory redundancy to eligible workers. In situations where an employer is genuinely unable to pay statutory redundancy entitlements due to financial difficulties or insolvency, the State provides a safety net and may make the statutory redundancy payments on the employer's behalf from the Social Insurance Fund. However, negotiations on enhanced redundancy packages over and above the statutory entitlement, which is the case we are discussing here, are entirely a voluntary matter between employers and workers. The State has no role in this matter.

For its part, in the event of a dispute, the State provides the industrial relations dispute settlement mechanisms, that is, the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, and the Labour Court, to support parties in their efforts to resolve their differences. I must emphasise that Ireland's system of industrial relations is essentially voluntary in nature and that responsibility for the resolution of industrial disputes between employers and workers rests in the first instance with the employer, the workers and their representatives. Recommendations arising from the WRC and the Labour Court are not legally binding. While I strongly encourage parties to engage in the industrial relations process in a constructive manner, the State cannot compel a party to comply with a Labour Court recommendation.

It is my understanding that negotiations are still in play and I would hope that the parties could reach a solution. I know there were offers and counter-offers and I hope a solution can be found. I am not in a position to tell the company. We have the industrial relations infrastructure and it has to do its job. I afraid that beyond the statutory redundancy, we do not have a role when it come to a commercial case.