Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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110. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he plans to hold a meeting with a union (details supplied) to discuss the unacceptable treatment of employees of an organisation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22171/23]

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I extend my sympathies to the former workers of Rehab who have been made redundant. I fully appreciate that this is a vulnerable cohort of the workforce and how difficult the situation is for those involved and their families.

At the time of the job losses concerned, dedicated staff in the Department of Social Protection worked directly with the employees to ensure they received their entitlements and other supports swiftly in order to avoid any further distress.

By law, it is the employer’s responsibility to pay statutory redundancy to eligible workers. In situations where an employer is genuinely unable to pay statutory redundancy entitlements due to financial difficulties or insolvency, the State provides a safety net and may make the statutory redundancy payments on the employer’s behalf from the Social Insurance Fund.

However, negotiations on enhanced redundancy packages over and above the statutory entitlement are entirely a matter between employers and workers representatives. The Government does not have a role in such negotiations and as Minister I cannot intervene in this matter.

Ireland’s system of industrial relations is essentially voluntary in nature. The Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court are independent offices and recommendations arising from the WRC and the Labour Court are not legally binding. .

While the Government cannot compel any party to comply with a Labour Court Recommendation, I want to emphasise that I strongly encourage parties to engage in the industrial relations process in a constructive manner and to comply where possible with any recommendations arising from this process.

I urge all parties to respect the industrial relations mechanism of the State, which works extremely well and effectively in most cases.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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111. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he is aware of a campaign (details supplied) which supports four workers and trade union members from Limerick who a union maintains were unfairly singled out, victimised and targeted for legitimate trade union activity. [22017/23]

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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Ireland’s system of industrial relations is essentially voluntary in nature and responsibility for the resolution of industrial disputes between employers and workers rests in the first instance with the employer, the workers and their representatives.

I would urge the parties to come together in an effort to resolve the issues which should hopefully lead to a resolution to the current situation.

Where this cannot be achieved, the State provides the industrial relations dispute settlement mechanisms i.e. the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court to support parties in their efforts to resolve their differences. The Workplace Relations Commission and Labour Court are independent statutory bodies.

It has been the consistent policy of successive Irish Governments to develop an institutional framework supportive of a voluntary system of industrial relations that is premised upon freedom of contract and freedom of association. There is an extensive range of statutory provisions designed to back up the voluntary bargaining process.

Under Irish law, an individual has the right to join a trade union of their choice. An individual cannot be discriminated against because they are a member of a union.

The Unfair Dismissal Acts 1977-2016 provide for a number of grounds under which a dismissal may be considered unfair, including membership or proposed membership of a trade union or engaging in trade union activities, whether within permitted times during work or outside of working hours.