I propose to take Questions Nos. 4 and 43 together.
The information sought by the Deputies is set out in a tabular statement which I propose to circulate in the Official Report.
The total number of redundancies notified to my Department in the first quarter of 1991 was 4,343 compared with 3,503 for the corresponding period in 1990. This increase may be explained by the notification by a number of firms of significant redundancies in the early part of this year. In general terms, these redundancies could be said to be attributable to factors such as the global recession, rationalisation, loss of markets and the temporary dislocation of business due to the Gulf crisis. It will be noted, however, that the average figure for notified redundancies in the first quarter of the years 1989-91 — 3,947 — represents a drop of more than a third on the average figure for the corresponding periods in the years 1985-88-6,208.
Tabular Statement
The total numbers of redundancies notified to the Department of Labour for the first three months of each year since 1985 were:
Year
|
January
|
February
|
March
|
Total
|
1985
|
2,386
|
1,710
|
1,916
|
6,012
|
1986
|
1,909
|
1,971
|
1,918
|
5,798
|
1987
|
1,839
|
1,842
|
1,890
|
5,571
|
1988
|
2,491
|
2,634
|
2,327
|
7,452
|
1989
|
1,388
|
1,375
|
1,232
|
3,995
|
1990
|
1,307
|
1,253
|
943
|
3,503
|
1991
|
1,169
|
1,459
|
1,715
|
4,343
|
The above figures relate to notifications of proposed redundancies under the Redundancy Payments Acts and not to actual redundancies. They do not, therefore, include certain categories of employees which do not come within the scope of the Redundancy Payments Acts; employees with less than two years' eligible service with an employer, employees who are under 16 years of age or who have reached the qualifying age of old age pension, or employees who work less than 18 hours per week.