Batt O'Keeffe
Question:128 Mr. B. O'Keeffe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment when the workers at a company (details supplied) will be paid the European compensation for steel workers. [9453/02]
Written Answers. - Company Closures.
Following the closure of Irish Ispat Limited last year, my Department applied to the European Commission for re-adaptation aid under Article 56(2)(b) of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) Treaty for employees who had been made redundant as a result of the closure of the company. One of the conditions for receipt of ECSC aid is that the member state concerned should pay matching funding to the employees. The Exchequer matching funds of €3,000 per employee were paid to the ex-employees in December 2001. The European Commission has recently advised me that it is in the process of transferring the ECSC aid funds to my Department for disbursement to the former employees and this is expected to happen shortly.