Joe Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Question 158: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the position regarding the dispute between Greencore and its former employees, who are still to receive their redundancy payments; his views on whether Greencore should be using the compensation it received from the State to redevelop the site at Mallow before they have paid their workers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8348/07]

Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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On the 26th of April 2006, the Labour Court made a recommendation regarding the redundancy terms for Irish Sugar workers at the Mallow plant. The recommendation provided that redundancy should be 5 weeks' pay per year of service, where a week's pay would be defined as actual finishing salary, excluding overtime, plus statutory redundancy entitlement, plus a bonus payment for an orderly wind-down.

The Court issued two clarifications in May and a third in October 2006, but these failed to achieve a resolution to the dispute. Both sides returned to the Court on 19 February 2007 for informal talks. The Labour Court continues to have informal discussions with the parties.

To date Greencore has not received any payment under the EU scheme of aid for the restructuring of the sugar industry. In July 2006, the company submitted an aid application to the Department of Agriculture, which, in accordance with the EU regulations, included a social plan detailing the actions planned by the company in particular with respect to re-training, redeployment and early retirement of the workforce. The company indicated that the proposed redundancy payments were in accordance with the ruling of the Labour Court. The aid application was approved in September 2006 subject to the outcome of the Judicial Review proceedings instituted by Greencore in respect of the Government decisions relating to the allocation of the aid. In view of this legal action, which is due to come to trial on 1 May 2007, it would not be appropriate for me to comment further. Under the EU regulations, the first instalment of aid would fall to be paid in June 2007.