Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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136. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he has been contacted or engaged by a company (details supplied) in respect of job losses at the company; if so, the nature of those discussions; if he is satisfied that the company will comply with communication protocols in respect of redundancies and-or requests to take unpaid leave and-or any other steps deemed to be cost saving; and if he will clarify the obligation of a company to inform him of plans to implement a voluntary time off programme for staff and whether they are obliged to comply with the request. [20308/23]

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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The Protection of Employment Act 1977 imposes certain legal obligations on employers proposing collective redundancies. These obligations include engaging in an information and consultation process of at least 30 days with employees’ representatives, and to notify the Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment of the proposals at least 30 days before the first dismissal takes place. My Department received a notification of proposed collective redundancies from the referenced company on 29 March 2023.

There is no requirement under the 1977 Act for employers to notify the Minister of offers of voluntary time off programmes to employees. Employees are under no obligation to agree to such offers of voluntary time off.

Following media reports on the redundancy process, I sought an update on the ongoing collective consultation process at the company from the IDA. I am assured that the company is committed to complying with its legal obligations in respect of the collective redundancy process in Ireland. The company started a 30-day consultation on 31st of March, which will continue until 5th of May and has held multiple collective consultation meetings with employee representatives to date. During those meetings selection criteria, proposed redundancy packages and additional support mechanisms were discussed.

I am informed that the company first implemented a number of cost saving measures in an attempt to avoid redundancies including closing or reducing office space, implementing a hiring freeze and reducing travel.

The company has also discussed ways to reduce the number of impacted roles, including an opportunity for those at risk of redundancy to avail of a voluntary severance program to receive the involuntary package offered. In addition, 21 roles have been opened up to those in the individual consultation phase for potential redeployment across other business areas within the company.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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137. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his Department has carried out research into the profiling of workers' electronic equipment by employers, given reports internationally of the increasing use of monitoring software and privacy-busting software to track workers throughout the working day. [20340/23]

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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Ireland has a robust suite of employment rights legislation, which offers extensive protections to workers.

My Department has not carried out research into the profiling of workers’ electronic equipment by employers.

My understanding is that when an employer collects, uses or stores information about an employee, they must comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Irish Data Protection Act 2018.