Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 304: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of employers who submitted PR50 forms in respect of redundancy payments to employees in 2011 and who pleaded inability to pay; the number of individuals affected by this; in such circumstances, the average time it takes for a payment to be made from the social insurance fund; the total estimated amount to be paid for 2011; the criteria that must be satisfied in order to plead inability to pay; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3382/12]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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My Department received 49,762 claims in respect of statutory redundancy payments in 2011. The Department does not maintain statistics in relation to the number of companies with regard to their inability to pay or otherwise. However, as lump sums are paid where companies refuse to pay or are unable to pay, an indicator which may be useful to the Deputy in this regard is the level of lump sums in comparison to rebate payments for 2011, as shown in the table below.

*All 2011 figures are provisional

It is the responsibility of the employer to pay statutory redundancy to all eligible employees. An employer who pays statutory redundancy payments to employees is then entitled to a rebate from the State of a percentage of the relevant amount. Where an employer can prove to the satisfaction of the Department that he/she is unable to pay the statutory redundancy to his/her employees the Department will make lump sum payments directly to the employees and will seek to recover the debt from the employer. To prove inability to pay the employer must submit documentary evidence, usually a recent statement of affairs and a letter from the company's accountant/solicitor to confirm that this is the position.

Straightforward redundancy claims submitted online through a new processing system introduced in October 2011 are generally processed within 6 to 8 weeks but this can vary considerably depending on the complexity of the claims. Claims submitted before October 2011 or submitted manually take longer to process. In relation to such claims, the Department is currently processing claims from June 2011.