Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Question 28: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of redundancies notified to her Department during 2007; the number notified to date in 2008; the way this compares with the same period in each year from 2002 to 2007; her views on the rapid increase in the number of redundancies; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41761/08]

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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The following table of figures shows the actual number of employees who qualified for statutory redundancy lump sum payments on a year by year basis from January 2002 to end October 2008. This does not reflect those who lost their jobs having less than two years' service in an employment as this does not qualify for payment under the Redundancy Acts.

Analysis carried out previously by my Department compared the average annual level of redundancies for the period 2002-2006 as against the level of redundancies in the period 1995-2001. It was found that the level of redundancy had almost doubled and the cause may be attributed to two factors. Firstly, there were more people at work in the 2002-2006 period which accounted for 20% of the increase in the level of redundancies. Secondly, the risk of redundancy increased significantly in the second period and this accounted for 80% of the increase in the level of redundancy.

The increase in redundancies reflected in 2007 and, more particularly in the current year to date, indicate the considerable downturn being experienced in all of the major employment sectors of the economy and, in particular, in the construction sector. This Department will continue to monitor the trends in the level of redundancies and report on any significant developments that may arise.