Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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Question 59: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the yearly breakdown of the 60% rebate for the past five years; the top five companies to which they were issued in 2004 to date in 2009; the number of companies that have defaulted on payment of redundancy packages each year; the names of the five largest companies each year; the cost to the Exchequer including loss in tax revenue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25492/09]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Under the Redundancy Payment Scheme, Employers who give proper notice of redundancy (at least two weeks) to employees, and pay the statutory redundancy entitlement to those employees, are entitled to receive a 60% rebate from the Social Insurance Fund into which employers make regular payments through P.R.S.I. contributions. The attached table sets out the monetary value of Rebate and Lump Sum payments paid out by the Department from 2005 and to date in 2009 as well as the number of employees covered by these payments.

Lump sum payments are paid to employees in instances where the employer is either unable to pay or refuses to pay employees their statutory redundancy entitlement. In cases where redundancy payments must be paid from the Fund because of employers' refusal to pay, the statutory lump sum entitlement is paid in full to the employees from the Social Insurance Fund administered by the Department. In such cases, the Department seeks to recover 100% of the monies from the employer. In circumstances of informal insolvency, liquidations, receiverships, examinerships or bankruptcy, the Department is obliged to pay the statutory lump sum entitlement to eligible employees and later seek to recover 40% of the amount paid from the employer.

It is not the practice of my Department to release information on redundancy matters in respect of individuals or companies.

As regards the issue of cost to the Exchequer, the attached table sets out the direct costs from the Social Insurance Fund. With regard to tax foregone, it should be noted that the statutory element of redundancy payments to workers are tax free. Tax would be payable normally on a portion of "ex gratia" payments made by the employer to employees over and above the statutory element. It is not possible to quantify the amount of tax lost as a result given that each job that has become redundant attracts different rates of pay and personal tax allowances.

* provisional figures