Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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221. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the specific supports or protections which are available to self-employed contractors and franchisees affected by the receivership of a company (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60847/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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222. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his Department has been in contact with the receiver appointed to a company (details supplied) regarding outstanding payments owed to drivers and route owners; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60848/25]

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 221 and 222 together.

My thoughts are with all those who are dealing with the uncertainty arising from the difficult news that The Nuvion Group has entered receivership.

Receivership is a long-standing legal mechanism for the enforcement of a security. In general, a receiver’s primary function is to secure the assets of the company, which have been mortgaged or charged in favour of the security holder who appointed him or her, and realise those assets so that the secured creditor’s debt is repaid as quickly and efficiently as possible. Receivers are independent in their role. As such, neither I nor the Government can intervene in the receivers’ execution of their function.

My Department has received a collective redundancy notification from the company and confirmation that the receivers have informed employees that they will be undertaking a 30-day collective redundancy consultation, as required under the Protection of Employment Act 1977 as amended. The Department of Social Protection has been in contact to offer information on the supports that are available to assist employees of The Nuvion Group and others who may be effected over the coming months.

I am conscious of the effects of the situation for subcontractors, franchisees and solo operators. Creditors should make contact with the receivers, and may wish to consider seeking independent legal advice.

The Revenue Commissioners has confirmed that it will work with individual couriers and businesses and will be pragmatic in its approach where businesses experience cashflow difficulties as a result of the loss of business or payments.

Furthermore, businesses experiencing cashflow issues as a result of these developments may wish to contact the National Enterprise Hub, which aims to provide a central, all-of-government service to help businesses access government supports. It acts as a single point of access for information on grants, funding, loans, and expert advice. The hub team can be contacted through the website (www.neh.gov.ie) or by phone (01 727 2100).

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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223. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will consider extending access to the insolvency payments scheme to dependent contractors and franchise operators in cases where companies enter receivership, given that current legislation excludes many from wage protection; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60849/25]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The Insolvency Payments Scheme operates under the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) Acts 1984 – 2020, which give effect to EU Directive 2008/94/EC.

In general, where an Irish employer has become legally insolvent, the Insolvency Payments Scheme protects the former employees of the insolvent company. The Scheme is administered by the Department of Social Protection on my behalf. Payments are made from the Social Insurance Fund and are subject to certain limits.

Under the Insolvency Payments Scheme, employees may claim various outstanding debts, through an employer representative, such as the official liquidator or receiver. These debts include arrears of wages, holiday and sick pay, minimum notice, certain unpaid pension contributions and various statutory awards made by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).

The purpose of Directive 2008/94/EC is to guarantee certain entitlements owed to employees arising from their employer’s insolvency.

Where a company becomes insolvent, the Companies Act 2014 sets out how its assets are to be distributed and how each class of creditor is to be treated.

Expanding access to the Insolvency Payments Scheme to include non-employee classes of creditors would represent a significant departure from existing law and policy. It would raise significant issues of moral hazard. It would also, in essence, result in the taxpayer guaranteeing private company debts in a way that would be unsustainable.

As such, I have no plans to amend the eligibility criteria of the Insolvency Payments Scheme to include classes of creditors other than employees.

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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224. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of workers, franchisees, and subcontractors known to be affected by the receivership of a company (details supplied); if he will provide an estimate of unpaid entitlements or sums owed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60850/25]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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My thoughts are with all those affected by the receivership of the company referenced.

My Department received a collective redundancy notification from the receivers of the company referenced on 31 October 2025. My Department does not comment on the specifics of any collective redundancy notification received.

In general, where an Irish employer has become legally insolvent, the Redundancy Payments Scheme and Insolvency Payments Scheme protect the former employees of the insolvent company by guaranteeing employees’ statutory redundancy payments and certain wage-related entitlements. The Schemes are administered by the Department of Social Protection on my behalf. Payments are made from the Social Insurance Fund and are subject to certain limits.

The employer representative, such as a receiver, is responsible for applying to the Redundancy and Insolvency Payments Scheme on the employees’ behalf.

Provisional processing of statutory redundancy or other wage-related claims to the Redundancy and Insolvency Payments Schemes cannot occur until actual termination of employment has taken place. This is because the entitlements under these schemes flow from the cessation of employment and other statutory conditions.

Receivership is a long-standing legal mechanism for the enforcement of a security. Usually in Ireland, a receiver is an individual appointed by a lender (like a bank) to take control of a company's or individual's assets that were used as security for a loan. In general, a receiver’s primary function is to secure the assets of the company, which have been mortgaged or charged in favour of the security holder who appointed him or her, and to realise those assets so that the secured creditor’s debt is repaid as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Receivers are independent in the exercise of their functions. For this reason, my Department does not hold information on amounts that may be potentially owed to different classes of creditors.

Therefore, any creditors, including self-employed contractors should make contact with the receivers who have been appointed in this case in order to submit proof of debt and to file a claim regarding unpaid monies/invoices.

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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225. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will instruct the Workplace Relations Commission or the Labour Court to examine whether a company's (details supplied) operating model constituted dependent employment under Irish law; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60851/25]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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My thoughts are with all those affected by the receivership of the company referenced.

In Ireland, there are a number of statutory bodies whose remit includes determining the employment status of a person. Each of these bodies make their determinations independently of each other in respect of the particular functions for which they are responsible. While Revenue has responsibility for determination of employment status of a worker for taxation purposes, responsibility for determination of employment status of a worker for PRSI purposes falls to the Department of Social Protection (DSP).

Where an employee considers their employment rights have been breached they may refer a complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) for adjudication. Whether a person is an employee under employment rights legislation may be determined by the WRC’s Adjudication Service and the Labour Court (on appeal) as a preliminary issue, when adjudicating on such employment rights complaints.