asked the Minister for Labour if he intends to appoint an insolvency officer to a company (details supplied) to protect the rights of the former workers.
Written Answers. - Appointment of Insolvency Officer.
150.
Nine former employees of the company have applied to my Department under the Protection of Employees (Employers' Insolvency) Act, 1984, for payment of awards made by the Employment Appeals Tribunal under the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act, 1973, also for payment of arrears of wages and holiday pay.
The Protection of Employees (Employers' Insolvency) Act, 1984, protects certain wage-related entitlements in the event of the insolvency of the employer. The Act, however, only covers cases where the employer is formally declared bankrupt or put into liquidation or receivership. The problem in this case is that the company concerned appears to have ceased trading but has not been formally put into liquidation or receivership. Consequently, the employer cannot be regarded as insolvent under the 1984 Act and these claims cannot be paid under the Act.
It may be possible to make regulations under the Act which would provide that employers who have ceased trading might be deemed to be insolvent for the purposes of the Act thus bringing cases such as this within the scope of the Act. The making of such regulations is under consideration, but there are complex legal and administrative problems involved. If these problems can be resolved, the necessary regulations will be made. If the regulations are made this will necessitate the appointment by the Minister for Labour of a relevant officer to perform the functions which would normally be carried out under the Act by a receiver or liquidator.
The case has been noted in my Department and it will be considered as quickly as possible if the proposed regulations are made. The employees concerned have already been paid their full statutory redundancy entitlements from the Redundancy and Employers' Insolvency Fund under the Redundancy Payments Acts.