Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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Question 320: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the way a company (details supplied) was able to plead inability to pay redundancy to its workers but was able to hive off its main asset, the site on which the company was situated. [40054/06]

Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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Two hundred and fifty-five employees were paid their statutory redundancy lump sums by the employer concerned on being made redundant between 5th of July 2002 and 28th March 2003. Rebate amounting to approximately €1.3 million was paid to the company out of the Social Insurance Fund on foot of these claims.

During 2002, the Labour Court issued a recommendation and clarification aimed at resolving the dispute over ex-gratia redundancy terms at the company. In situations where the Labour Court operates as an industrial relations tribunal in trade disputes, its recommendations are not enforceable in law. In such cases, the Court hears both sides and then issues a recommendation setting out its opinion on the dispute and the terms on which it considers the dispute should be settled. I understand that in November 2002, the workers at the company voted on and accepted a revised package on severance pay which it was intended would be binding on both the company and the workers.