Aidan Farrelly (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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534. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the date on which he was contacted by and or engaged by a company (details supplied) in respect of job losses at the company; if so, the nature of those discussions; and if he is satisfied that the company has complied with communication protocols in respect of redundancies. [11552/25]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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IDA Ireland works very closely with TikTok, given the scale and strategic importance of its activities In Ireland and is in regular dialogue with the company. IDA was notified on 19th February 2025 that TikTok’s Dublin operation would likely be impacted by a global restructuring and that further detail would be available over the coming weeks.

On March 4th 2025, IDA was subsequently provided with further detail setting out the scale of the proposed restructuring in Dublin and details of the impacted functions, in line with the Collective Redundancy Notification that was provided by the Company itself to me as Minister.

The Protection of Employment Act 1977 imposes a number of obligations on an employer that proposes a collective redundancy. This includes undertaking a 30-day information and consultation process with the employees’ representatives, and notifying the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment of the proposed redundancies at least 30 days before they take effect. I received a notification from TikTok on 4 March 2025.

The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) is the organisation mandated to secure compliance with employment rights legislation and employees can bring a complaint if they believe their employer has failed to comply with their obligations under the 1977 Act. As the WRC is responsible for determining whether an employer has complied with its obligations under the 1977 Act, it would not be appropriate for me to offer a view.

My first thoughts are with any employees impacted by such company downsizing and the State’s agencies will work to support any workers affected in the period ahead as they pursue alternative employment. These include:

• Provision of a detailed skills profile for the employees on the site; and when individuals will be available, which can be shared with other potential employers.
• Recruitment opportunities through identification and connection with other employers who may be hiring across the locality and wider region.
• Information sessions by the Department of Social Protection's Intreo Office to impacted employees on social welfare services and employment support services to support impacted employees’ transition to new employment opportunities.
• Identification and provision of training and further education opportunities for employees e.g. ETBs; Skillnet; Universities.
• Exploring opportunities to start your own business through LEOs and Enterprise Ireland.