Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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Firstly, my thoughts are with all employees facing job losses and I fully appreciate how difficult this situation can be.

Ireland has a robust suite of employment rights legislation to protect and support workers in collective redundancy situations. 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 and Employment of the proposals at least 30 days before the first dismissal takes place. A collective redundancy notification was received from the company on 17 August 2023.

The consultation with employees’ representatives should include the possibility of avoiding the proposed redundancies, reducing the number of employees effected or mitigating their consequences.

While I strongly encourage parties to engage in consultation in a constructive manner with a view to finding a mutually acceptable solution, this is not a matter in which I can intervene. It is important that the autonomy of both employees, employers and their representatives in the matter of resolving differences is respected by the State.

It is the employer’s legal responsibility to comply with their obligations under the Protection of Employment Act 1977. Employers who fail to comply are guilty of an offence and the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) is the statutory agency responsible for bringing such prosecutions.

Employees also have the right to refer complaints to the WRC on a wide range of employment law breaches for an adjudication and redress where appropriate, including the right to refer a complaint should an employer fail to consult or provide certain information to employees’ representatives during a collective redundancy process. The WRC is independent in the performance of its functions and it is important that I respect that independence.

In relation to redundancy payments, the State plays a role by providing for a minimum statutory redundancy payment to eligible employees through the Redundancy Payments Act 1967. However, negotiations on enhanced redundancy packages over and above the statutory entitlement are entirely a voluntary matter between employers, workers and their representatives and the State has no role.