asked the Minister for Labour if he will ensure that former employees of Galway Textile Printers Ltd. will be paid the money awarded to them by the Employment Appeals Tribunal under the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act, 1973; and if he will make a statement on this matter.
Written Answers. - Galway Textile Printers.
752.
There are no funds available to the Minister from which awards of compensation made by the Employment Appeals Tribunal under the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act 1973, can be paid.
In the case referred to in the question, the company is in receivership and the employees concerned should pursue their claims against the company or the receiver. If, however, the company is wound up, it appears that the provisions of section 13 (1) of the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act would apply. That section provides that any compensation awarded by the Employment Appeals Tribunal under the Act shall, where the employer is a company and is being wound up, rank as a preferential debt against the assets of the company. In that situation, the question of payment of the compensation in whole or in part would depend on the amount of the company's assets and the extent to which there are other preferential claims.