Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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199. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the measures she will take regarding the announced 220 job losses in a bank (details supplied); if she will meet with the bank and the Financial Services Union regarding this threat to employment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15649/17]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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My Department remains focused on creating the most competitive environment for enterprise to succeed so that we can achieve our goal of sustainable employment for all. Working with our enterprise agencies and with colleagues across Government, we are committed to delivering a range of actions outlined in our National and Regional Action Plans for Jobs to ensure that quality and sustainable jobs continue to be created throughout all regions of the country.

Ireland has a robust suite of employment rights legislation, which offers extensive protections to employees. Those protections include the Protection of Employment Acts 1977-2007, which provide for a process of information and consultation between the employer and the employee representatives in circumstances where a collective redundancy is proposed, the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts 1973 to 2005, which give employees entitlements to specified notice periods or payment in lieu of such notice and the Payment of Wages Act 1991 which protects outstanding wages, holiday pay, commission and bonuses. In addition, the Redundancy Payments Acts, which are administered by the Minister for Social Protection, provide for minimum statutory redundancy payments.

The Protection of Employment Act 1977 provides that, where employers are planning collective redundancies, they are obliged to supply the employees’ representatives with specific information regarding the proposed redundancies and to consult with those representatives at least 30 days before the first dismissal takes place, to see if the redundancies can be avoided or lessened or their effects mitigated.

The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) is mandated to secure compliance with employment rights legislation. The WRC’s Customer Service Section provides information in relation to employment, equality and industrial relations rights and obligations, and how to obtain redress where appropriate. WRC information officials are available to meet staff, either individually or collectively, to discuss their employment rights, including matters related to redundancy. The WRC’s Customer Service Section can be contacted at Lo-call: 1890 80 80 90. The website also provides extensive information on employment rights.