Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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296. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of claims under the redundancy payments scheme in each of the years from 2011 to 2016 and to date in 2017 in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5411/17]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The purpose of the redundancy payments scheme is to compensate employees for the loss of their jobs, where the employer is unable to pay statutory redundancy due to financial difficulties or insolvency. The scheme is funded from the social insurance fund.

The total number of claims received under the redundancy payments scheme for the years 2011 to 2016 and in January, 2017, is provided in the table.

The claimload fell from almost 50,000 to 4,300 between 2011 and 2016, a reduction of over 90 per cent. The ending of the economic crisis and the subsequent improvement in the economy have led to a significant decrease in the number of claims for redundancy payments. In addition, in 2013, a legislative change in the scheme abolished rebate payments to employers who were in a position to pay statutory redundancy payments.

Consequently, expenditure on redundancy payments from the social insurance fund has fallen from €312 million in 2011 to €31 million in 2016.

I am confident that the continued improvement in the economy, especially the fall in the unemployment rate to just over 7 per cent, together with the careful administration of the scheme by my department, will see the number of claims remain at a low level.

Redundancy Payments Scheme