Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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175. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the progress made on the review of eligibility for the Insolvency Payments Scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36346/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The purpose of the insolvency payments scheme, which operates under the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) Act, 1984, which, in turn, derives from EU Council Directive 987/80, is to protect certain outstanding pay-related entitlements due to employees in the event of the insolvency of their employer. These entitlements include wages, holiday pay, sick pay, payment in lieu of minimum notice due under the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts, 1973-2001, and certain pension contributions. Various other statutory awards made by the Employment Appeals Tribunal and Rights Commissioners are also covered by the scheme.

Where a person’s former employer was a limited company, the company must be in liquidation or receivership in order for the person to be eligible to claim under the insolvency payments scheme. In such circumstances, the liquidator or receiver becomes the relevant officer for submitting claims as he or she has access to the company records and can certify that the amounts claimed are in order.

There can be situations whereby employers have ceased trading without engaging in any formal wind-up process and some or all of their former employees are left with money owed to them. Such people are not covered by the insolvency payments scheme.

The Department is continuing to review the position to establish what, if anything, can be done to progress payments to individuals in situations where employers cease trading without engaging in a formal winding-up process and owe moneys to their employees. The Department is consulting a range of interested parties, including the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement, the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and the Revenue Commissioners, in respect of these issues. Officials from the Department will continue to engage with all relevant parties to try to progress the matter. There are very difficult legal issues that need to be addressed and the potential impacts that any proposed policy development might have must be considered.

I am not in a position to indicate at this stage when the review will be completed. We do not yet have a legal solution to it because there are all sorts of consequences that might flow from taking a legal position that was not carefully worked out. It could damage other people as well as addressing the problems faced by some people. In addressing this, we must find a sensible and proportionate approach which does not have negative knock-on consequences for workers' other rights.