Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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78. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if, in light of proposed redundancies at a company (details supplied) he will review current legislation around redundancies and notice periods in order to enhance current protection for workers; if he or his Department will meet with worker of to hear their concerns at the limitations of the current legislation and the process undertaking by their employer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22143/23]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Firstly, let me say I fully appreciate that this is a very difficult situation for all the workers who are impacted by redundancies at this company. Government will assist the employees as needed in relation to income, employment and training supports.

Ireland has a robust suite of employment rights legislation to protect and support workers in collective redundancy situations. I will briefly outline some of these protections:

Under the Protection of Employment Act 1977, employers must comply with a number of legal obligations when proposing collective redundancies. This includes the requirement to consult and provide information to employees and their representatives for a 30-day period, before any notice of redundancy can issue. A collective redundancy notification was received from this company on 29 March.

The Redundancy Payments Acts 1967-2022 set out the entitlement of eligible employees to a minimum statutory payment in situations of redundancy. Negotiations on enhanced redundancy packages, over and above the statutory entitlement, are entirely a voluntary matter between employers, workers and their representatives. The State has no role in this matter.

Under the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts 1973-2005, employees are entitled to statutory minimum notice period depending on their length of service, once they have been in continuous employment for at least 13 weeks. Some contracts of employment may provide for a minimum notice period that is greater than the statutory entitlement.

If employees believe their employment rights have been breached, they have the right to refer complaints to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) on a wide range of employment law breaches for an adjudication and compensation where appropriate.

On 4 May, I received approval from Government for the priority drafting for a Bill which includes proposals to further enhance the protection of employees in a collective redundancy situation. This Bill will deliver on important Programme for Government commitments and serves to implement the remaining commitments in the Plan of Action on Collective Redundancies following Insolvency.

While some of these changes specifically relate to collective redundancies where the employer is insolvent, there are changes in the proposed Bill that will provide further protection to employees in all collective redundancy scenarios. It is proposed that the grounds for redress from the WRC will be expanded to include where an employer dismisses an employee during the 30-day period following notification to the Minister.