asked the Minister for Labour when his Department will give sanction to the application by the liquidator of a company (details supplied) in County Louth which is in voluntary liquidation, in accordance with the provisions of the Protection of Employees (Employers Insolvency) Act, 1984 for payment of arrears of pension contributions which were outstanding when the company went into voluntary liquidation; the amount of the arrears applied for by the liquidator; the period during which the arrears occurred; the reason the arrears occurred; the effect any such payment will have on the pensions already paid to (a) managerial and supervisory staff, and (b) operative staff; if he has any function in the way in which any finance paid to the liquidator was applied; if he will ensure that any such finance is applied to the redundant persons' pensions as a supplementary payment to those so entitled under the terms of the pension schemes for the original company (details supplied) which provided for (i) full time permanent wage earning employees, and (ii) a full time permanent foreman, clerical or technical staff; if the finance to be paid by his Department will be paid to the liquidator or to a company (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Louth Company.
This case involves two companies, one of which was put into receivership and subsequently sold off to the second company, which has itself since been put into voluntary liquidation. Employees of the first company were re-employed by the second which continued their original pension scheme. My Department received an application on 26 September 1988, from the liquidator of the second company for payment under the Protection of Employees (Employers' Insolvency) Act, 1984, of arrears of contributions to that scheme.
I should explain that under the 1984 Act the function of the Minister for Labour in regard to pensions, where the employer concerned is a company in liquidation or is otherwise covered by the Act, relates only to outstanding contributions relevant to the year prior to the date of insolvency. It is necessary also to establish the precise amounts of such contributions. The reasons the contributions are outstanding in this case have not been indicated to my Department.
The application received was completed by the trustees of the pension scheme and submitted, as is appropriate, through the liquidator of the company. However, it was incomplete in that it did not state the precise amount of pension contributions outstanding. There was also a problem as regards the period to which outstanding contributions were stated to relate. The period indicated was from 1 April 1985 to 1 September 1985, but this did not coincide with the period of claim allowable under the Act, i.e. a year prior to the date of insolvency (5 May, 1986). The application form IP6 was returned to the liquidator on 8 November 1988 for appropriate revision in this regard. The liquidator was also asked, in association with the trustees, to supply some further necessary information concerning the pension scheme.
When the further information is received from the liquidator together with the amended form IP6, the application will be processed without delay by my Department and if in order, payment will be issued, in accordance with the statutory regulations, to the liquidator. In turn, the liquidator will be responsible for passing the funds, as appropriate, to the trustees of the pension scheme. It is a matter for the trustees and members of the scheme as to how any moneys paid will be applied. I have no function in that regard.