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Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 17 Oct 1979

Vol. 316 No. 1

Written Answers. - Redundancy Regulations.

513.

asked the Minister for Labour if he will introduce amending legislation to assist a group of workers (details supplied) placed at a disadvantage by the new redundancy regulations and if he will make a statement on the matter.

The workers in question were made redundant in April 1976 and received the statutory redundancy lump sums to which they were entitled.

Representations were recently made to me to the effect that the workers in question should now get any differences between the statutory lump sums which they received in 1976 and those which they might have received were their lump sums calculated under the provisions of the Redundancy Payments Act, 1979. Improved lump sums are possible under the 1979 Act to the extent that the wage ceiling applied in the calculation of lump sums was increased from £2,500 to £5,000 per annum.

I cannot accept that the workers in question were placed at a disadvantage. They received their statutory entitlements in accordance with the law in force at the date they were made redundant and in this respect they are in the same position as all other workers made redundant before the 1979 Act came into force. I feel I should add that they were one of the more fortunate groups of workers to secure re-employment almost at once—with a break of only a few days—in the same business under new ownership.

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