asked the Minister for Labour if he will state in respect of 1970 and 1971 the number of notifications of qualified redundancies.
15.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Redundancy Figures.
14.
asked the Minister for Labour the total number of workers who became redundant in 1971.
I propose, with your permission, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, to take Questions Nos. 14 and 15 together.
The numbers of redundancies notified under the Redundancy Payments Acts in 1970 and 1971 were 3,896 and 8,556 respectively. These figures are not directly comparable, however, because of the reduction in the qualifying period for redundancy payments from four to two years under the Redundancy Payments Act, 1971, which became effective as from 1st September, 1971.
16.
asked the Minister for Labour the number of workers declared redundant in 1971 who became re-employed.
4,540 of the persons notified as redundant in 1971 under the Redundancy Payments Acts are no longer registered as unemployed.
17.
asked the Minister for Labour the number of workers declared redundant in 1971 who are at present availing themselves of retraining schemes.
The number of workers notified as redundant in 1971 under the Redundancy Payments Acts who are at present undergoing retraining in AnCO training centres is 35.
Can the Minister do anything to improve that position? When AnCO was established, the intention was to give priority to the retraining of redundant workers. AnCO have hardly got round to retraining any of them. They are doing a useful and good job in training young workers but they are not doing the retraining that has become vital in view of the increased number of redundancies last year. Would the Minister take urgent action to ensure that AnCO will give priority to retraining redundant workers?
That is being done.
Thirty-five?
The Deputy may not be aware of the fact that many of the people who become redundant are offered retraining facilities but do not wish to avail of them, at least in the beginning while their redundancy payments are continuing.
There were 4,000 people who became redundant last year and some of them are still on the unemployment register. Is the Minister seriously telling the House that only 35 of them wish to be retrained?
That is what I understand.