Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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26. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if his officials and his Department have a policy to open communication with companies and-or organisations in financial difficulty and where a number of jobs are at risk; if they actively work with management and-or owners of such businesses to avoid closure and job losses; if there is a need for further legislation to ensure minimum notice for workers of companies in difficulty; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28411/15]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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A key element of the work of my Department and our Development Agencies (IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland) is to work very closely on an ongoing basis with our client companies to sustain and grow their operations and to ensure that any potential threats to employment in their operations are identified well in advance so they can be addressed before major difficulties emerge.

A very significant level of engagement is carried out with companies, quietly and behind the scenes, to address ongoing challenges and to help the companies to develop new strategies, to change their business models where necessary and to further embed their operations in the Irish economy. This work by the Agencies includes, where appropriate, pursuing relevant Research and Development opportunities; promoting training initiatives; provision of targeted grant aid in specific circumstances; and developing capacity building and transformational management systems.

In addition, an early warning system is in place to flag unexpected job threats which may emerge at short notice. In such instances, the Agencies, my Department and I myself, as Minister, work with the company to develop alternatives or mitigate the worst impact on workers. It is nevertheless, important that, in the event that a company in serious financial difficulty down-sizes or closes, a range of interventions in Government policy areas can be brought to bear such as: the Redundancy Payments Scheme, Labour Activation/Training etc. which seek to ameliorate the impact of job losses.

In particular, the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act 1973, requires employers to give notice of termination or to pay employees in lieu of notice, and outstanding wages, holiday pay, commission and bonuses are protected by the Payment of Wages Act 1991.

In the event that an employer is insolvent, the employees are entitled to seek payment from the State through the Insolvency Payments Scheme, which is administered by the Department of Social Protection (DSP). Employees may also be entitled to payment from this Fund in respect of holiday pay, outstanding pay and minimum notice, amongst others. My Department works with DSP and other Departments to ensure that Government services are made available to workers to clarify their entitlements and to develop other opportunities for those affected.

In addition to the above services, the State's industrial relations machinery is always made available, to assist parties in a dispute situation. It is very heartening that the work of the Labour Court and the Labour Relations Commission, which also come within the remit of my Department, has managed to resolve many apparently intractable disputes and has resulted in very positive outcomes in restructuring situations.

This process, involving many State stakeholders works well. It is continuously learning and responding to the changing global environment.

As the existing legislation provides robust protections for employees who find themselves in the type of situation outlined in the Deputy's Question, I do not consider that further legislation is required to ensure minimum notice for workers of companies in difficulty.