Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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710. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding the review to establish the action that can be taken to help persons whose former employers ceased trading without entering into a formal winding-up process, who may not access the insolvency payments scheme under the terms of the Protection of Employees Acts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25011/16]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Under the provisions of the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) Act 1984, an employer company shall be regarded as being insolvent if the company is placed into receivership or a winding-up order has been made or a resolution for the voluntary liquidation of the company has been passed. The Act does not cover informal insolvency where employers cease trading without engaging in any formal wind-up process.

The Department is continuing to review the situation of informal insolvency to ascertain what can be done to provide access for affected employees to the insolvency payments scheme. The Department is consulting with 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 this issue.

The Department is considering legal advice on the difficult and complex company and employment law issues arising and the potential impacts that any potential policy developments could have on existing legislation.

In addition, the Department continues to engage with the two reviews of employment and company law initiated by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation on foot of the Clerys closure.

Bearing in mind the above, I am not in a position to indicate at this stage when the Department’s review of the law surrounding informal insolvency will be completed.