Deirdre Clune (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 134: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of persons in Cork awaiting redundancy payments from her Department; the duration that they have been waiting; when it is envisaged that they will be paid; the number of persons awaiting payment nationally; the steps she will take to expedite the process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40193/09]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I can advise the Deputy that the latest figures available to end October 2009 indicate that the number of redundancy claims awaiting processing stands at 43,826. Unfortunately, I am unable to provide the Deputy with the specific information she has requested as the Department does not collate statistics for applications awaiting processing on a county basis. I am sure the Deputy will appreciate that at this time my focus and that of my Department is on ensuring that redundancy payments are processed as quickly as possible.

The Redundancy Payments Section of my Department is currently processing applications filed online from March '09 and those submitted by post from February 2009 but expects shortly to be processing online claims submitted from April '09 and manual claims from March '09. In respect of lump sum payments paid directly to employees in instances where employers are unable to pay the statutory redundancy entitlements as in this case, the Section is, in general, processing claims dating from June 2009.

Given the unprecedented increase in Redundancy Payment claims lodged with my Department since late 2008 it has proved impossible to maintain the customer service targets that previously obtained. The scale of the challenge is evident from the statistics that show incoming redundancy claims with a cumulative figure for the first ten months of 2009 at 67,346. This figure exceeds the claims lodged for the full year 2008 (40,607) and 2008 was, of itself, an exceptional year as compared with earlier years when claims received were of the order of 25,000.

Efforts continue to be made by my Department to deliver more acceptable turnaround processing times for redundancy payments given the difficulties that this gives rise to for both individual employees and the business community. Measures already taken include:

the reassignment of 26.7 additional staff (full time equivalents) from other areas of the Department to the Redundancy Payments area since early 2009 with ongoing review of trends and demands. The current number of staff serving in the Redundancy Payments Section in terms of full time equivalents is 51.5 although the Section is currently carrying two vacant positions which are due to be filled;

the prioritisation of the Department's overtime budget towards staff in the Redundancy Payments Section to tackle the backlog outside normal hours;

the establishment of a special call handling facility to deal with the huge volume of telephone calls from people and businesses who are naturally concerned about their payments, using the facilities and cooperation of the National Employment Rights Authority (NERA). This centre has received an average of 12,500 calls per month this year with an estimated 60% relating to redundancy payments;

The provision of better quality information relating to current processing times on the Department's website;

Engagement with the Revenue Commissioners to facilitate the offset of redundancy rebate payments by employers against outstanding tax liabilities with the Revenue Commissioners.

The Tánaiste and I continue to monitor closely the impact of these changes against the continuing influx of redundancy claims and will consider further measures to deal with the situation should current measures prove to be inadequate.