Vol. 352 No. 1
asked the Minister for Labour the number of claims for lump sum redundancy payments and the total amount paid from the Redundancy Fund in respect of the liquidation proceedings affecting a company (details supplied); the date of payment; the counter-claim lodged with the liquidator.
442.
asked the Minister for Labour in relation to the Redundancy Fund, (a) the extent to which he is a creditor of a firm (details supplied) in liquidation; (b) the estimated amount appearing to be payable from the Redundancy Fund to the claimant arising from a decision of the Employment Appeals Tribunal dated 7 June 1984.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 441 and 442 together. My Department have paid a total of £58,559.91 from the Redundancy Fund in redundancy lump sums to 38 former employees of the company concerned. The payments were made on various dates between 5 March 1984 and 2 May 1984. Allowing for a 60 per cent rebate of the amount of the lump sums, the balance of £23,423.96 has been claimed from the official liquidator under section 42 of the Redundancy Payments Act, 1967, as substituted by section 14 of the Redundancy Payments Act, 1979.
In regard to part (b) of Question No. 442, the position is that under section 10(4) of the Unfair Dismissals Act, 1977, the liquidator has six weeks from the date of communication of the tribunal decision within which he is entitled to appeal against that decision to the Circuit Court. As that period will not have expired until 24 July 1984, the possible entitlement of the employee concerned to a statutory redundancy lump sum cannot be determined before that date.
443.
asked the Minister for Labour if he is aware that in appeals to the Employment Appeals Tribunal, where firms are in liquidation, and where redundancy payments are not directly made by the firm in liquidation but are made from the Redundancy Fund, claimants are now obliged to undertake the costs of proceedings in the High Court before an appeal may proceed; if he is aware that it was never intended that claimants for redundancy payments should have to undertake such costs in order to obtain a statutory right and if he will make a statement as to remedial measures he proposes to take.
I am aware that in a recent appeal to the Employment Appeals Tribunal the official liquidator of the company concerned was not prepared to appear before the tribunal without the leave of the High Court. This situation did not arise from any provisions of the Redundancy Payments Acts or of the Unfair Dismissals Act, 1977, under which the tribunal heard the case but derived, I understand, from the provisions of section 222 of the Companies Act, 1963, which governs the circumstances in which actions or proceedings can be taken against liquidators generally. I am not aware of any previous instance in which section 222 has been invoked by a liquidator in relation to an appeal to the tribunal. I propose to consider the implications so far as such appeals are concerned, in consultation with the Minister for Industry, Trade, Commerce and Tourism, who is the Minister responsible for the Companies Acts.
444.
asked the Minister for Labour if he is aware that in a recent appeal affecting an employee's claim for a redundancy payment from the Redundancy Fund, the Employment Appeals Tribunal in case 476 of 21 May 1984, declined to assist in clearing the legal obstacles which had been imposed by the liquidator; and if he will arrange for the payment to the claimant from the Redundancy Fund, of the claimant's costs in the High Court which were necessary so that he could proceed with his claim at the tribunal for a statutory redundancy payment from the fund where the firm was in liquidation.
In the particular case referred to I understand that the respondent, an official liquidator appointed by the High Court, contended that it was necessary to obtain the leave of the court for his attendance at the tribunal hearing. I understand further that the tribunal took the view that it is a matter for the parties involved to clear any obstacles to the hearing of appeals by them.
There is no provision in the Redundancy Payments Acts, 1967 to 1979, or the Unfair Dismissals Act, 1977, for payment from the Redundancy Fund of the costs incurred by the claimant in obtaining the leave of the High Court.
